LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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f UNITED STATES OP AMERICA 



MANUAL 



OF 



THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 



OB 



RELI&IOUS TRUTHS GENERALLY BELIEVED BY 
EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS. 



DESIGNED TO FACILITATE THE INSTRUCTION OF THE 

YOUNG IN FAMILIES, SABBATH 

SCHOOLS, ETC. 



't CD 

REV, WHITMAN SECK, A. M. 

" The Faitli once delivered to tne Saints." — JuDE iii. 



KEEV. WHITMA.N SECK, A. M. *Zfey 



PUBLISHED BY 

WARREN, BROUGHTON & WYMAN, • 

13 Bible House, New York ; 
32 Washington Street, Boston. 
1872. 



,-FH*" 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by 

Whitman Peck, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



John J. Reed, Printer, 43 Centre St., N. Y. 



ONTENTS 



Page 

Theology — Its Importance 9 

God — Idea of — Credibility of Truth respecting 9 

Existence of God — Proofs of 10-17 

The Bible the Word or God— Inspiration — Internal and 

External Evidences 18-36 

Nature and Character of God — One : the Father, the 
Son and the Holy Spirit — A Spirit, Eternal, Omnipo- 
tent, Omniscient, Omnipresent, Unchangeable — 

Holj^, Just, Good, Merciful, True and Faithful 37-52 

Purposes of God 53 

Providence of God 55 

Moral Government of God 58 

Holy Angels 62 

Fallen Angels 65 

Creation of Man 69 

Temptation and Fall of Man 69 

Sinfulness of Man in Consequence of the Fall 72 

Men naturally destitute of Holiness 75 

Natural and Penal Consequences of Sin 78 

Self Justification impossible— Excuses — Good Works — 
Religious Observances — Plea for Justice — Plea for 

Mercy — Mercy' in part and Justice in part 81-85 

The Atonement by Christ — Its Necessity, Nature, and 

Extent 86-91 

Intercession of Christ 91-97 

Election 98-103 

The Influences of the Holy Spirit 104 

Regeneration— Its Nature— Reality — Evidences — Author 

—Necessity, and Means 107-115 



iv Contents. 

Page 
The Christian Life — 

Faith 116-123 

Justification by Faith 124-127 

Trust in God 127 

Love to God — Benevolence — Complacency — Grati- 
tude 128-130 

Kepentance 131 

Humility 134 

Prayer 135 

Submission — Obedience, and Consecration , 140 

Sanctification — Perfection on Earth 143-148 

Perseverance 149 

Privileges of Christians — Forgiveness, Adoption, Com- 
munion with God, Christian Fellowship, Heirs of 

Heaven 154-158 

Christian Institutions — 

The Church— Churches 158 

Baptism — Mode — Subjects 159 

Lord's Supper 164 

Christian Sabbath 166 

Public Worship 173 

The Millennium 181 

Life a season oe Probation 186 

Death 190 

The Future State — 

Immortality 192 

Intermediate State 197 

Resurrection - . . 199 

Judgment , 202 

The Punishment of the Wicked — in Hell — endless. . 205 
The Happiness of Christians in Heaven — perfect- 
endless 218 

God Glorified 225 



g R E F A C E . 



This volume has been prepared to supply what 
the author has long felt to be a great want. The 
question has often arisen in his mind, "Why should 
the youth growing up to maturity in families profess- 
ing Christianity, study Algebra, History, Philosophy, 
Astronomy, and other sciences, and not study Theol- 
ogy ? Why should this study be neglected as least 
important and suitable only for ministers ? It would 
be inexpedient, doubtless, to have religious truths 
taught in public schools except as they are taught in 
the Bible, and tnany would exclude even the Word 
of God ; but why should they not be taught more in 
families, in Sabbath-schools and Bible classes, and 
even in private schools ? What study is more im- 
portant ? What study is better fitted to discipline 
the mind, to elevate the thoughts, to enlarge the 
heart, and to fit one for the responsibilities of life, 
even if eternity be left out of view, and especially 
if life is the beginning; of an endless existence ? 

But how can most young persons acquire such a 
knowledge of religious truths as should seem desir- 



vi Preface. 

able? The Bible, indeed, teaches such truths, and 
should be chiefly studied, but they need to know that 
it is the "Word of God and what it teaches. Such 
knowledge is usually very imperfect, and can be more 
easily acquired by learning what others have already 
learned, provided each one thinks and reasons for 
himself, and carefully distinguishes truth from error. 
Yet it can scarcely be expected that many in these 
days will study or even read such systems of Theol- 
ogy as are chiefly designed for ministers, composing 
several volumes, or, at least, a large volume. There- 
fore the author has been led to prepare a small 
volume designed to teach the essential and more im- 
portant truths of religion, so that they can be more 
easily learned. He supposes that the views presented 
are much the same that all evangelical Christians 
believe, except in respect to Election and Persever- 
ance, Baptism and Church Government. 

Religious truths, though most important, are least 
known. Many professing Christians scarcely know 
what they profess, and could not give any sufficient 
reasons for their belief. Most persons believe what 
they have been taught. In many cases this may be 
sufficient to guide them safely through life and 
secure their salvation; but they are often carried 
about by every wind of doctrine, and the truth itself 



Preface, vii 

is apt to be set at naught amidst scenes of worclliness, 
gaiety, and dissipation, especially if they are beset 
with sceptical influences and exposed to the snares 
of infidelity. How often, too, when youth trained 
in Christian families, begin to think and reason for 
themselves, does their faith waver so that it is a long 
time before it is settled if it be not overthrown. The 
foundation of true faith is sure enough, but few are 
taught to build on it, and an evil heart of unbelief 
leads many astray, so that they are never saved. Let 
youth be taught the essential and leading truths of 
religion, and learn to give some satisfactory reasons 
for what they believe, then they will be more apt to 
believe the truth, and as they advance in life their 
faith will increase, and whatever tends to shake 
it will only render it more steadfast and immoveable. 
There are often difficulties in explaining the simplest 
truths, and objections to them that no one can 
answer; yet an honest, candid, and earnest inquirer 
w r ill not be led far astray whoever may attempt 
to lead him, but let him be earnest^ and sincerely 
pray to be taught by the Spirit of God. 



Manual of Christian paith, 

OR 

THEOLOGY. ' 

Theology is -the science of God. As other sciences 
teach systems of truths respecting the heavenly 
bodies, the earth, the human body and mind, ani- 
mals, plants, and minerals, so Theology teaches such 
truths respecting God, as he has himself revealed to 
men, or they have discovered by reason. 

The importance of Theology should seem to be 
very great, since it lies at the foundation of religion. 
If there is any need of religion, and it makes any 
difference whether a true or false religion prevails, 
the truths of Theolo^v need to be known and 
believed. 

GOD. 

Some idea of God has prevailed among men every- 
where and in all ages. The simplest is that of an 
uncreated and invisible Being of supreme power and 
superior wisdom. 

The credibility of any truths respecting God 
depends on the reasons for believing compared with 
the reasons for rejecting them. Mathematical proof 
should not be expected, nor should absolute certainty 
be required. The stronger reasons are sufficient for 
believing or rejecting any truth, provided all the rea- 

9 



IO Existence of God. 

sons that we can discover have been duly and can- 
didly considered. We often believe what it is possible 
to doubt, and some disbelieve, and there is no reason 
why w^e should require stronger evidences of reli- 
gious truths than of others. The doubts, too, which 
arise on this subject can be traced to ignorance or 
evil prejudices rather than the want of sufficient evi- 
dences. These are most abundant ■, clear y and over- 
whelming. 

THE EXISTENCE OF GOD. 

The existence of God should be inferred partly from 
the idea of such a Being so universally prevalent. 
Such an idea, however imperfect or erroneous it may 
be, must have been derived from a reality. All ideas 
are derived from realities. We cannot think with- 
out something to suggest thought. Even imaginary 
and false ideas are founded on truth. We could not 
conceive of a fictitious man if there were no real men. 
So there could be no false ideas of God or false gods 
if there were no true God. 

The existence of God should also be inferred from 
its general belief. Very few, comparatively, have 
denied it, and it is doubtful whether any who have 
reflected much on the subject have been free from the 
conviction that there is an invisible Being of supreme 
power and superior wisdom. It is true that what is 
generally believed may be false, but not after long 
inquiry and a full discussion. Until, therefore, it 
can be plainly proved that there is no God, it is more 
reasonable to adopt the prevailing opinion that 
there is. 



Existence of God. , II 

But the most satisfactory reasons for believing in 
the existence of God are the manifold and multiplied 
evidences derived from our own existence and that 
of all things. "The invisible things of Him from 
the creation of the world are clearly seen, being un- 
derstood from the things that are made, even His 
eternal power and Godhead." a Every house is 
build ed by some man, but He that built all things is 
God." "The heavens declare the glory of God, and 
the firmament showeth His handy work. Day unto 
day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth 
knowledge. There is no speech, nor language, where 
their voice is not heard." Apart from the authority 
of these passages of Scripture as the inspired Word 
of God, they appeal to our reason and carry convic- 
tion to most minds. 

We might, perhaps, as reasonably conclude that 
matter in some form has always existed uncreated, as 
that God has, if this would account for all things as 
they are, but it would not. It w r ould not account for 
anything that has had a beginning or that displays 
intelligence and design. Though it may be thought 
that matter is naturally active, undergoing changes 
and assuming new forms, so that things as they now 
exist are only the developments of original matter 
according to natural laws, and that even men may 
have descended from apes, it is plainly not the 
nature of matter to think, to devise and execute 
plans, or to adapt means to ends, not even as we 
are capable of doing, much less as has been done in 
the creation and preservation of the heavens and the 



12 Existence of God. 

earth, and especially of such intelligent and moral 
beings as we are. 

"Whatever powers, therefore, properly belong to 
matter, and by whatever natural laws it is governed, 
wherever there are plain indications of intelligence 
and design, wherever there is a wise and skillful 
adaptation of means to ends, and good and glorious 
results are being accomplished, there are clear and 
satisfactory proofs of the existence of mind distinct 
from and superior to matter ; and wherever infinite 
knowledge, wisdom and skill are displayed, there are 
proofs of the existence of an infinite mind, a Supreme 
Being, God. Such proofs we find in ourselves and 
everything around us. They are often ascribed to 
Nature as her works, but if they are it is only 
because God is the Author of Nature and its laws. 

We , so fearfully and wonderfully made, are our- 
selves living witnesses of God's existence. The 
simplest lesson that a child can learn is, that God 
made him. His ideas respecting the Creator may 
be the faintest possible (and even men's most exalted 
conceptions of Him are only faint), yet he easily com- 
prehends that there must be some Being who made 
him and all things. 

If we should see one of the finest statues that art 
has produced we should not doubt that its admirable 
proportions and surpassing beauty were first con- 
ceived, and then sculptured from marble by some 
skillful artist. But a human artist can only imper- 
fectly imitate the Divine Artist. If he possessed 
the requisite power and skill, he would give to a 



Existence of God. 13 

statue life and motion, inspire it with thoughts, and 
make it capable of knowing, loving, and serving 
him. Surely, then, we were not born by chance, we 
were not made without a Maker. To suppose that 
we were, is absurd ; to believe it is most unreason- 
able, if, indeed, it is possible. 

The forms of our bodies, and the adaptation of 
their various organs to their several uses, display the 
wisdom and power of the Creator far more than the 
finest works of art display the genius and skill of 
men. The eye adapted for sight, the ear for hearing, 
the nose for smelling, the tongue for speaking, the 
hands for anv kind of work, the feet for walking; or 
running, the lungs for breathing, the stomach for di- 
gesting food, the heart, arteries, and veins, for the 
circulation of the blood, the blood itself to nourish 
the body, the nerves for sensation and activity — the 
whole body fashioned, preserved, and grown to its 
present stature, with its several organs, affords strik- 
ing proof of the existence of a Being powerful, wise, 
and skillful enough to create and preserve us. Or if 
we could conceive of the creation of the body with- 
out a Creator, how could it possess life and action 
without any life-giving and life-preserving power ? 

Such proofs are greatly multiplied when the sev- 
eral parts of the body are minutely examined. The 
eye, for example, not only required the power and 
wisdom of God to form it and adapt it for sight, but 
each part required the same. First the pupil expands 
or contracts just enough to admit sufficient light, and 
no more; then the crystalline lens has just the shape 



14 Existence of God. 

needed to form an image on the retina, where also the 
optic nerve is spread out to receive and convey the 
sensation of sight to the brain. Whenever there is 
the slightest imperfection or disease in any one of the 
several parts of the eye, either partial or total blind- 
ness ensues. It was long before men acquired suffi- 
cient knowledge and skill to invent the telescope, 
and long after its first invention before it was im- 
proved and perfected as it has been. If, then, the 
telescope affords proof of men's knowledge and skill, 
it should seem that the eye affords multiplied proofs 
of the knowledge and wisdom of God. So, also, all 
the members and organs of the body, when minutely 
examined, afford multiplied proofs of His existence. 

Our minds, too, must have originated from a 
Divine mind. An intelligent and moral Being only 
could create other intelligent and moral beings. Men, 
with all their wisdom and skill, cannot invent think- 
ing and reasoning-machines. Much less could such 
minds as ours exist by chance. Nothing can be more 
absurd than the idea that we are capable of thinking 
and reasoning on various subjects, of feeling love or 
hatred, joy or sorrow, of distinguishing right from 
wrong, and of feeling moral obligations, without the 
knowledge or will of an intelligent Creator. 

There are, also, dear and manifold proof s of God's 
existence every where around us. The view of any 
landscape, including hills, mountains, valleys, plains, 
lakes, and rivers, whether clothed in the freshness 
and beauty of spring, abounding in the fruits of sum- 
mer and autumn, or covered with snow and ice in 



Existence of God, 15 

winter, naturally suggests the idea of God. The sea, 
the vast and surging ocean, cataracts, lightning and 
thunder, the clouds and sky, sunshine and storms, 
all bear witness of Him. So, also, do beasts, birds 
fish, and every living creature. 

Here, again, the proofs are multiplied more and 
more as we consider the great variety of creatures 
and things that exist, and minutely examine each 
one. There are multitudes of insects so small that 
they escape notice, yet the microscope reveals the 
game perfection of structure and beauty in them that 
is seen elsewhere in the natural world. 

Other proofs of God's existence are seen in the 
heavens. Even heathen worshipers of the sun and 
moon should seem more rational than those who say 
in their hearts, there is no God. Of course, these 
heavenly orbs have no claim on our worship. We 
should not love and adore them. But they plainly 
teach us that there is a Being whom we should wor- 
ship. Only an intelligent Supreme Being could set 
the earth in motion and so regulate its movements 
around the sun and on its own axis, that there should 
be days and nights, seasons and years, more uniform 
and exact than any chronometer ever invented. Does 
it require knowledge and skill to measure time, and 
none to produce it ? Only an intelligent Being, also, 
could so constitute the sun that its li^ht and heat, 
coming to the earth from a distance of more than 
ninety million miles, should impart life, comfort, and 
beautv to every clime. 

Nor is it only one sun with its retinue of primary 



1 6 Existence of God. 

and secondary planets that thus declares the glory of 
God. A thousand such suns can be seen at night 
shining as stars in the firmament above us, and with 
telescopes millions — yes, many billions more. Be- 
sides, no astronomer has yet reached, with telescopic 
vision, the farthest limits of the universe or imagined 
that it will ever be reached. 

What, then, shall we conclude respecting the exis- 
tence of God ? Are there no proofs that should 
satisfy us ? Have we been forced to believe that 
there is no God ? Or have we not rather been 
prompted to express the conviction — 

" There is an unseen Power around 
Existing in the silent air, 
Where treadeth man, where space is found, 
Unheard, unknown, that Power is there." 

It is a source of great satisfaction to many to be 
assured that there is a God, the Creator and Pre- 
server of all things infinitely superior to themselves 
and all created beings. It is a source of great com- 
fort to them to believe that God is their Heavenly 
Father, that lie cares for them and provides for their 
comfort and welfare w T ith infinite wisdom and good- 
ness. It is a source of great peace to them, that 
though they are sinners, God is gracious, compas- 
sionate, and long-suffering towards them ; that God, 
in Christ, is able and willing to save them ; and that 
God, the Holy Spirit, is their Teacher, Guide, and 
Sanctifier. It is a source of great consolation to 
them in trouble, in adversity, in doubt, in perplexity, 



Existence of God, \j 

in poverty, in trials, in affliction, in suffering, in sor- 
row, in sickness, and in death, that God orders and 
controls all events and all things, so that even the 
hairs of their heads are all numbered, and a 1 things 
work together for good to them that love Him. It is 
a source of great joy to them that God is with them 
at all times, knows all their wants, hears their pray- 
ers, diffuses happiness to innumerable holy beings, 
and will, finally, welcome them, penitent and believ- 
ing, into His presence, where is fullness of joy, and 
at His right hand, where are pleasures for evermore. 
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God, but 
we should say, The Lord Jehovah is my strength and 
my song, he also is become my salvation. 



THE BIBLE THE WORD OP GOD. 



^ Since, as has been proved, there is a God, we shall 
next inquire, Whether the Bible is, as it claims to be, 
the Word of God? This is important, for the know- 
ledge of God and religious truths is derived chiefly 
from the Bible. Though what it teaches is consistent 
with reason, and many of its truths may be satisfac- 
torily proved by reason alone, enlightened as it has 
been by the Holy Scriptures, reason without the 
Bible has not imparted to men a true knowledge of 
God. Even the existence of the true God has not 
been known, and many false gods have been wor- 
shiped, except where the Bible has been circulated. 

INSPIRATION. 

The authority of the Bible as the Word of God 
depends on its inspiration. This denotes a special 
influence exerted by God on the writers of the Old 
and New Testaments, so that what they wrote should 
be regarded as written or spoken by Himself, and 
therefore certainly true, not to be disputed or doubted. 

There is no reason, indeed, why the Bible should 
not be believed apart from its inspiration. We do 
not consider history and the sciences false because 
they are not inspired ; no more should we disbelieve 
the Bible if we should doubt its inspiration, though 

believing it is plainly inconsistent with any such 

18 



The Bible the Word of God. 19 

doubt. If not inspired, still no history, no code of 
laws, no poem, 110 precepts of morality and virtue, 
no religious creed ever published, merits so much 
the attention and admiration of men. Every page 
bears the impress of truth. Not a fact, not a decla- 
ration, not a sentiment, not a doctrine it contains, has 
ever been disproved. If not inspired, it should seem 
that those who wrote it must have learned by reason, 
or perhaps by intuition, truths far above the reach 
of common minds. It is still the Bible. But its 
authority as the Word of God depends, as has been 
remarked, on its inspiration. 

Just in what respects and how the Bible was inspired, 
we need not inquire. The fact is all that we need 
to know. This, too, refers to the original Scriptures 
rather than any copy or translation differing from 
them, though it is not known that there is any essen- 
tial difference. It refers, also, to the whole Bible, 
and not merely such parts of it as may seem to any 
one to have been inspired. 

That the Bible is inspired should be believed for 
such reasons as the following : 

A more perfect knowledge of God and religious 
truths than men have ever had without the Bible 
was desirable. It was possible for God to impart 
such knowledge. A regard for his own glory and 
the good of men would dispose him to impart it. 
There are, also, sufficient evidences that the Bible is 
his inspired Word. These evidences are of two 
kinds, Internal and External. The internal evi- 
dences are such as are derived from the Bible itself. 



20 The Bible the Word of God. 

The external evidences are such as are derived from 
History, Miracles, and Prophecies. 

INTERNAL EVIDP^NCES. 

The Bible could not have been written without in- 
spiration. As a true system of astronomy, or any 
other science, could not be written by any one 
ignorant of the faefs and principles on which it is 
founded, so the Bible could not have been written 
by uninspired men, who could not have known or 
conceived of such facts and truths as it reveals. 
Especially will this be evident to those who are best 
acquainted with it, and feel most its influence. They 
could as easily believe that there could be the light 
of day without sunshine, as the light of the Gospel 
without inspiration. 

The knowledge of the only true God has been dep- 
rived only from the Bible. Some of the wisest men 
that ever lived, except where the Bible has been 
taught, lived in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. 
Yet in all these countries idolatry and superstition 
prevailed. Not even the most enlightened minds 
had any conceptions of God as he is, an almighty, 
omnipresent, and omniscient Spirit, perfectly holy, 
just, and good. No human mind, unenlightened 
from above, ever conceived of the sublime ideas: 
"From everlasting to everlasting thou art God." 
" With whom is no variableness neither shadow of 
turning." " Behold the heavens and lieaven of 
heavens cannot contain thee." u Whither shall I go 
from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy 



The Bible the Word of God. 21 

presence ? If I ascend into heaven, thou art there. 
If I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If 
I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the 
uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand 
lead me, aiid thy right hand shall hold me." "The 
Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the 
imaginations of men." " God is light." " God is 
love." " Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts ; the 
whole earth is full of His glory." " Just and true 
are Thy ways, O Thou King of Saints." "Like as 
a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them 
that fear Him." Such exalted conceptions of God 
are more than the human mind can grasp, though 
so plainly revealed, and God only could have thus 
revealed Himself to men. 

The plan of salvation through Christ, as taught in 
the Bible, could not have been conceived without 
inspiration. Though it did not require a revelation 
from God to teach that all have sinned, the nature 
of sin and its guilt in the sight of God would never 
have been known without it. Especially would it 
have been impossible to know that there is salvation 
for sinners, or such salvation as is offered in the 
Gospel. The idea that God was m Christ recon- 
ciling the world. unto Himself, or that the blood of 
Christ cleanseth from all sin, so incredible to many 
even now, is above human thought, above reason, 
and could be conceived only by inspiration. 

So, olso^ justification by faith could not have been 
first taught by uninspired men. If we think how 
the heathen have vainly endeavored to appease the 



22 The Bible the Word of God. 

anger of their false deities by costly sacrifices and 
self-inflicted tortures, and how prone all, even in 
Christian countries, are to rely on their own good 
works for salvation, we shall have reason to conclude 
that the idea of justification by faith is not of human 
origin. At the same time, if we consider how faith, 
works by love, purifies the heart, and overcomes the 
world, how it imparts peace and joy to those who 
would otherwise be oppressed w T ith a sense of their 
sinfulness and guilt, and how it cheers and animates 
the soul in view of death and eternity, w r e shall be 
apt to think that its origin is divine. God only 
could deliver to sinful men the message, " Believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." 

What the Bible teaches respecting regeneration 
and sanctification by the Holy Spirit is another 
proof of its inspiration. Men easily understand, in- 
deed, that some change is necessary to fit them for 
heaven ; but they either believe that it can be easily 
effected by their own efforts whenever they purpose 
to live a better life, or sometimes despair of ever 
being delivered from their evil propensities and 
wicked passions. The idea of being born again, 
being born of the Spirit, being renewed and sancti- 
fied by the Holy Spirit, or the idea that there is any 
Holy Spirit, never entered their minds till it came 
by inspiration. Even since they have been taught 
such truths, the wisest of them are ever asking, as 
Nicodemus did, How can these things be? till they 
learn them by experience. Then they are convinced, 
if not before, that the Bible is the Word of God, and 



The Bible the Word of God. 23 

the longer they live by faith, or the richer their ex- 
perience is, the more they feel that they have been 
taught of God. 

The resurrection of the body, the final judgment, 
and the future state of the righteous and the wicked, 
as taught in the Bible, afford additional proof of its 
inspiration. Whatever reason alone might lead us 
to conjecture respecting a future state of existence, 
it would never have suggested the idea of the resur- 
rection. The body after death molders into dust, 
and though science teaches that none of its particles 
are ever lost, it represents them as locked up in the 
dark sepulchre, sunk in the ocean, scattered by the 
winds, or transformed into vegetables, trees, flowers, 
and animals. That the dead will rise from their 
graves would seem impossible, if not plainly taught 
by God himself, with whom all things are possible. 
So, also, though we might have had anticipations of 
happiness, and forebodings of evil beyond the grave, 
only one having authority could have depicted, as 
Christ did (Math. xxv. 31), the final judgment, with 
the awards of the righteous and the wicked. Who 
has ever conceived of and described such a scene 
without deriving his ideas from the Bible ? Could 
it have been . anticipated without a revelation from 
God? 

The spirit which the Bible exhibits and enjoins 
also proves its inspiration. Instead of a selfish, 
proud, and worldly spirit, or a hateful and vile spirit, 
such as is apt to be exhibited among men, or such as 
heathen deities are represented as exhibiting, it is 



24 The Bible the Word of God. 

lovely, pure, kind, benevolent, and heavenly. If it 
sometimes assumes the aspect of severity, it is only 
in opposition to sin, and even towards sinners it is a 
spirit of compassion and forgiveness. How unlike 
the spirit which has filled the world with violence 
and bloodshed, oppression, and cruelty ! How much, 
too, of the spirit exhibited by virtuons and good men 
has been derived from the influence which the Bible 
has exerted upon them ? 

The Bible proclaims peace on earth, good will to 
men. It offers forgiveness to the penitent. It prom- 
ises rest to the weary and heavy laden. It imparts 
consolation to the afflicted. Its precepts are : Love 
your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good 
to them that hate you ; and pray for them that des- 
pitefully use you and persecute you. We shall look 
in vain for the exhibition of such a spirit except 
where the influence of the Bible is felt. "We shall 
search in vaiu for such pure precepts in the writings 
of men who have not been familiar with the Word of 
God. Hence it should seem that the Bible must 
have been inspired by the same Spirit that produces 
the fruit of love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentle^ 
ness, goodness, meekness, temperance. 

Another proof of the inspiration of the Bible is, 
that it furnishes the only perfect standard of morality 
and virtue. Some, indeed, regard it as too strict, 
and as requiring too much, and think it would be 
unreasonable to expect men to conform to it as their 
rule of life; yet they must acknowledge that it is a 
perfect rule, that whatever it requires is right, and 



The Bible the Word of God. 25 

whatever it forbids is wrong. Human standards are 
various, and all of them imperfect. One justifies 
what another condemns. Especially are men apt 
to justify in themselves what they would condemn 
in others. They judge, too, by the outward life, 
and are satisfied with an outward conformity to 
their own standards of duty. But the Bible con- 
nects the heart with the life, the intention and 
motive with the conduct, love with obedience. It 
teaches, "That which is highly esteemed among 
men is abomination in the sight of God." Thus its 
standard of perfection is much higher than unin- 
spired men would have conceived. It respects, too, 
all that men ever think, say, or do, and all classes 
of men, high and low, rich and poor. Such a rule 
of life never originated among men as, "Thou shalt 
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with 
all thy soul, and with all thy mind ; and, Thou shalt 
love thy neighbor as thyself;" and, "As ye would 
that men should do to you do ye, also, to them." 

Again, the religion of the Bible proves its inspi- 
ration ; not, indeed, any religion professedly derived 
from it, nor merely such as it requires, but that which 
it really cherishes among those who read it atten- 
tively, and sincerely believe it to be the Word of 
God. No other religion makes men essentially 
better. The worship of idols, and prayers offered 
to the false prophet, or pilgrimages to his temple, do 
not fit men for heaven, or even make them better 
citizens. But the religion of the Bible effects an 
essential change in the character. It inspires love 



26 The Bible the Word of God. 

to God and delight in his service. It makes sinners 
penitent, and leads them to forsake their sins. It 
begets a spirit of prayer. It withdraws the affec- 
tions from the world, and sets them on things above. 
It incites earnestness and zeal in doing good, espe- 
cially in saving others from sin and misery. It 
purifies the heart, and improves the outward life. 
There are numerous examples of its renewing and 
sanctifying influence in every Christian community. 
Such a religion was never devised by men. It is 
not of the earth. 

It is, also, an evidence of the inspiration of the 
Bible that it is adapted to the spiritual wants of 
men. The earth brings forth fruit abundantly to 
satisfy their bodily wants. Science, history, poetry, 
and the arts, contribute largely to their intellectual 
enjoyment. But they have higher wants than these. 
At times, especially, they long for something better, 
and aspire to something higher. As dependent be- 
ings they need to be assured that they are kindly 
protected and cared for ; as sinners they need for- 
giveness and sanctification ; weary and heavy laden 
they need rest ; in affliction they need comfort ; in 
sorrow they need consolation ; in sickness and dis- 
tress they need sympathy ; in view r of death and 
eternity they need the hope of immortality and ever- 
lasting happiness. Till these wants are satisfied, 
there is an aching void in their souls. The Bible 
only tells them how it can be filled. God will be 
their Protector and Friend if they trust in Him, 
Christ offers them forgiveness, and promises to send 



The Bible the Word of God. 27 

the Holy Spirit to renew and sanctify them, and 
thus make them heirs to an inheritance incorruptible, 
undetiled, and that fadeth not away. 

The last internal evidence of the inspiration of the 
Bible which will be considered is, that it reveals the 
only icorthy end of human existence, to glorify God 
and enjoy him forever. Apart from this the exist- 
ence of intelligent beings could scarcely be a bless- 
ing. Surely earthly pursuits and pleasures, accom- 
panied with so much sin, suffering, and sorrow, are 
not suited to the capacities of the human soul. Yet 
if the Bible is not inspired, we are sure of nothing 
beyond the present life. Everything pertaining to 
a future existence is dark and gloomy. Reason 
gives us no light. It only leads into thicker dark- 
ness. The best that we can do is to shut our eyes, 
and not see whither we are leaping. But with the 
Bible to inspire the hope of salvation from all sin 
and misery, and of dwelling forever with the re- 
deemed in heaven, we can cheerfully bear the ills 
of life, and triumph over death. Believing that God 
will be faithful to his word, we can conceive of no 
greater good than to glorify and enjoy Him forever. 

Taking the Bible, then, and reflecting on what it 
teaches respecting God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, 
the salvation of men, and the future state ; compar- 
ing its spirit and precepts with those of the wisest 
and best men who have not felt its influence; con- 
trasting its religion with any other; and finding in 
it what can be found nowhere else, the way of 
peace, leading to the full enjoyment of God for 



28 The Bible the Word of God. 

ever and ever, we conclude, even before consider- 
ing the external evidences, that it is not of men. Un- 
inspired men could not have written it. If this had 
been possible, bad men would not have been dis- 
posed to write so much to condemn themselves, 
what also bad men naturally hate ; and good men 
would not have used such deception as to represent 
God as saying what they knew was false. The Bible, 
therefore, is the Word of God. "Whatever it teaches, 
thus saith the Lord. 

EXTERNAL EVIDENCES. 

History. — No history is more "certainly true than 
that contained in the Bible, and, being true, it 
proves the inspiration of all that the Bible reveals. 

Biblical history, apart from its inspiration, has the 
same kind of evidences of its truth that any other 
history has. We believe other histories which the 
best judges pronounce true, especially if we know 
that they carefully examined and were fully satisfied 
with the evidences of their authenticity. The most 
that we require is to be assured that the authors 
themselves could not have been deceived or mis- 
taken, and faithfully represented the facts as they 
occurred. On such testimony we believe what his- 
tory teaches respecting Washington as the father of 
our country. It is reasonable, therefore, that on 
such testimony we should believe what the Bible 
teaches respecting Christ as the Saviour of man- 
kind, and other facts which it narrates. 

The best judges, after a thorough examination of 



The Bible the Word of God. 29 

the evidences, have generally believed the Bible. 
Amonor them have been the best and most learned 
men, such as Pascal, Newton, Brewster, and Cuvier, 
besides theologians in other countries, and in our 
own, nearly all the professors of science and litera- 
ture. The evidences as given by Lardner, Home, 
and Paley, or Alexander Mcllvaine and Hopkins, 
are abundant and overwhelming. Even those who 
doubt the inspiration of the Bible generally admit 
the truth of its history. 

The writers of the Bible could not have been de- 
ceived or mistaken. Either they were the most art- 
ful impostors ever known, or what they wrote is true. 
They did not write what they had learned through 
traditions extending back many generations, but 
what they had themselves seen and heard, at least 
enough to know that it was true or false. The 
writers must have been the persons named ; for 
during the life- time of some of them, other writers, 
both Christian and heathen, referred to Christian 
churches as then existing, and such churches have 
always been composed of believers of the Gospel, as 
preached by the Apostles and taught in their writ- 
ings now contained in the New Testament. Numer- 
ous such references prove, as clearly as history proves 
anything, that the facts related in the New Testa- 
ment were sincerely believed by the apostles and a 
great many others at the time they are said to have 
occurred. The facts, too, are of such a nature that 
they could not have been believed if they were not 
true. False statements, indeed, are often believed, 



30 The Bible the Word of God. 

but not such as are referred to. The principal of 
these facts are the death and resurrection of Jesus 
Christ. Any one who believes these will readily 
believe the rest. A fact so improbable as the re- 
surrection of Christ after He had been crucified, 
could not have been believed if it had not been 
true. Could anyone of us declare that we had 
seen a man put to death, and had afterwards seen 
the same man alive, and not know whether it was 
true or false? Or could any persons be so deluded 
that they would believe such a statement? No 
more could the apostles have been deceived, or have 
deceived others. 

The apostles, moreover, and others confirmed their 
sincerity by their earnestness and zeal in the face of 
opposition, persecution, and death. There have been 
many false prophets and teachers, indeed, who, for 
the sake of distinction and gain, have pretended that 
they were commissioned by God to teach some new 
truths. But it is apt to quench the zeal of impostors 
to find that they are exposing themselves to popular 
scorn and hatred. It requires real sincerity, and a 
deep conviction of truth and right, to nerve even 
fanatics to face persecution and meet death. A 
person may think it heroic to die for the truth, but 
not to die in confirmation of a lie. Therefore, the 
apostles and many early Christians have furnished 
the best possible evidence not only of their own sin- 
cerity, but also of the truth of the Gospel. 

The death and resurrection of Christ are, also, con- 
firmed by the Lord's Supper, and the observance of 



The Bible the Word of God, 31 

the Christian Sabbath instead of the Jewish, just as 
fully as the Declaration of Independence is con- 
firmed by every Fourth of July celebration. W011I 
there have been such an annual celebrat'on without 
any Declaration of Independence? If not, would 
there have been such institutions as the Lord's Sup- 
per to commemorate the death of Christ, and the 
Christian Sabbath to commemorate his resurrection, 
if it is not true that he was crucified and rose again ? 

The resurrection of Christ being thus clearly proved, 
it follows that the other miracles recorded in the New 
Testament were certainty performed, though this may 
be proved independently of his resurrection. Believ- 
ing this, we need no further proof that during His 
ministry He healed the sick, cast out devils, restored 
sight to the blind, raised the dead to life, and per- 
formed various other miracles recorded in the New 
Testament. 

Miracles, — The power of working miracles must 
belong only to God ; nor would He confer it on any 
one to introduce a false religion, or even a religion 
mixed with errors. We know, said Nicodemus, that 
Thou art a Teacher come from God ; for no man can 
do these miracles that Thou doest except God be with 
him. Therefore, what Christ taught Himself, or by 
His apostles working miracles in His name, has the 
authority of God, and is His inspired Word. Tin's 
proves the inspiration of the New Testament, which 
also confirms w T hat the Jews have always believed, 
that the writings of Moses and the prophets, with 
the Psalms, are the law of God. 



32 The Bible the Word of God. 

Prophecy. — Though the evidences already eon- 
sidered are conclusive, there is another class of ex- 
ternal evidences that should not be passed over, 
such as are furnished by the fulfilment of prophe 
cies. There are various predictions in the Bible of 
events long before they transpired, such as no human 
foresight could have discerned, many of which have 
been strikingly fulfilled. Each of these must have 
been a revelation from God, and confirms the in- 
spiration of the writers. "We shall only refer to the 
prophecies respecting Nineveh, Babylon, and Tyre, 
leaving the reader to recollect or learn how strik- 
ingly they have been fulfilled, and notice a few par- 
ticulars respecting one or two others. 

Respecting the Jews, Moses wrote, in the twenty- 
sixth chapter of Leviticus, and the twenty-eighth 
chapter of Deuteronomy, these various predictions : 
" The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from 
afar, from the end of the earth, a nation whose 
tongue thou shalt not understand. And the Lord 
shall scatter thee among all people from one end 
of the earth unto the other. And among these na- 
tions shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole 
of thy feet find rest. Ye shall be an astonishment, 
a proverb, and a by-word among all nations." How 
these predictions have been fulfilled is well known. 
The Jews have been scattered, persecuted, oppressed, 
hated, and despised, a proverb and a by-word among 
all nations. ¥e now see the fulfillment of these 
prophecies written more than three thousand years 
ago. Could they have been written without inspi- 



The Bible the Word of God. 33 

ration ? If not, then God spake by Moses, and the 
law given by Moses is the law of God. 

Respecting Christ it was predicted that " the seed 
of the woman should braise the serpent's head ;" 
that in the seed of Abraham all the nations of the 
earth should be blessed ; that the sceptre should not 
depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his 
feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the gath- 
ering of the people be ; that from the going forth of 
the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem 
unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks 
and three score and two weeks, and after three 
score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but 
not for himself. It was also predicted, "Unto us a 
Son is born, unto us a Child is given, and His name 
shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty 
God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace, 
and of the increase of His government and peace 
there shall be no end." " He was wounded for our 
transgressions ; He was bruised for our iniquities ; 
the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all: 
When thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin 
He shall see His seed ; He shall bear their iniqui- 
ties." From these and other plain intimations in 
the Old Testament, the Jews were led to expect the 
appearance of some remarkable person about the 
time that Christ appeared, who should be their De- 
liverer and King. They, indeed, rejected Christ as 
the true Messiah, but we find in the New Testament 
such a complete and remarkable fulfillment of what 
the prophets had long before foretold, that the con- 



34 The Bible the Word of God. 

viction is forced on our minds that the person de- 
scribed in the prophecies, particularly in the fifty- 
third chapter of Isaiah, is the same that suffered on 
Calvary. 

All Scripture, then, is given by inspiration of God, 
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, and for 
correction in righteousness. "For the prophecy 
came not in old time by the will of man, but holy 
men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghost. The Word of the Lord endureth forever, and 
this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached 
unto you." 

It should here be considered that we have attempt- 
ed to give only an outline of the evidences, both in- 
ternal and external, which should lead us to believe 
that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. To 
present them fully requires volumes. But we think 
that such as we have given should seem satisfactory. 
To doubt is, indeed, possible, and even easy for those 
who are so disposed, but to believe is most reasonable. 

It has sometimes been thought that science and 
learning are at variance with the truths taught in 
the Bible. But though they have sometimes seemed 
to be so at first view, a careful inquiry has uniformly 
strengthened the conviction in most minds that the 
Author of the Bible and the Author of Nature is the 
same. Astronomers, now, vast as their discoveries 
are, and immeasurable as is the space which they 
have traversed with telescopic vision, no less than 
the Psalmist, have occasion to exclaim, u When I con- 
sider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon 



The Bible the Word of God. 35 

and the stars which Thou hast ordained. "What is 
man that Thou art mindful of him, and the son of 
man that Thou visitest him ? " And geologists have 
not yet explored the depths of the earth far enough 
to find any reasons why they should not say, Of old 
hast thou laid the foundations of the earth. The 
long-buried ruins of ancient cities now dug up, the 
recently deciphered hieroglyphics on Egyptian tab- 
lets, and the knowledge acquired by researches in 
the countries in which Moses and the prophets, 
Christ and the apostles lived, have only increased 
the evidences of the truth and inspiration of the 
Bible. 

Though, too, these evidences do not preclude the 
possibility and probability of mistakes and errors in 
the various copies or translations of the original 
Scriptures, such mistakes and errors have been care- 
fully guarded against by both Jews and Christians, 
and however numerous they may be, it is evident 
that they do not essentially affect the meaning of 
God's Word. 

The Bible is the Word of God. Though at times 
doubts may still arise, and we may not be able to 
answer all the objections which skeptics may urge, 
or to explain all the difficulties which cavilers may 
suggest, w T e should hold fast to this lelief. On this 
rock we should rest our souls ; to it anchor our 
fondest hopes. Who can show that unbelief is safer, 
or w T iser ? Let eternity decide whether our faith is 
vain or the pledge of glorious realities. 

But it is very inconsistent to profess to believe the 



36 The Bible the Word of God. 

Bible yet doubt some of its plainest truths, or to dis- 
regard them. It may be impossible to understand 
some parts of it, and more or less difficult to com- 
prehend fully its meaning ; but for the most part it 
is plain, and what is plain should be fully believed 
and strictly obeyed. We should not dare to dis- 
believe, or neglect the Word of God. 



THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OP GOD. 



With the "Word of God, and reason enlightened 
by it, we shall find it less difficult than it otherwise 
would be to acquire a true knowledge of God and 
religions truths, though it must be imperfect. " Who 
by searching can find out God ? Who can find out 
the Almighty to perfection ? " 

First, we learn that there is only one God. This, 
indeed, might be inferred from reason alone, since 
there are no proofs of the existence of more than one, 
and there seems to be but one Supreme Power in the 
universe. Though the heathen worship many gods, 
and each nation has its own, the same God evidently 
rules over all. All have the same Creator, the same 
Preserver, and the same bountiful Benefactor. It is 
the same sun that rises on the evil and on the good, 
and the same rain that falls on the just and on the 
unjust. The same law that holds the earth in its 
orbit extends to the most distant planet, and doubt- 
less to the remotest star. Hence we should infer 
that there is only one God. He also declares in His 
Word, " I am the Lord, and there is none else ; there 
is no God beside me." " Thou shalt have no other 
gods before me." 

The Bible reveals God to us as the Father, the 
Son, and the Iloly Spirit. Some have taught that 
there are three distinct Persons in the Godhead. 

37 



38 Nature and Character of God. 

But such language is not used in the Scriptures, is 
often misunderstood, and is apt to convey a false 
impression. It is scarcely possible to conceive of 
three distinct Persons as one Being. We prefer to 
say that God has revealed himself as the Father, and 
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

JSTo one will deny that God is revealed as the 
Father, the Father of all, the Father of Christ, and 
our Heavenly Father. But a great many do not 
believe that Christ, the Son of God, is truly God ; 
or that the Holy Spirit is God as well as the Father. 
But the Gospel with God as our Saviour is very 
different from the Gospel w T ith only a man to set us 
a good example, and teach us useful doctrines. A 
Pope, though he should be infallible as the Pope has 
been declared to be, would not be such a Saviour as 
we need. Or what need is there of the Holy Spirit, 
if he is less able to enlighten, renew, and sanctify us 
than God is ? 

The Bible, also, plainly teaches that Christ is God. 
" In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was 
with God, and the Word was God. And the Word 
was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld 
his glory, the glory of the only-begotten of the Father), 
full of grace and truth." It could not be more plainly 
declared that Christ is God. He, also, claimed to be 
the Son of God, so that the Jews took up stones to 
stone him for blasphemy, because, as they said, " Thou, 
being a man, makest thyself God" He said, too, " I 
and my Father are one" and taught that " all should 
honor the Son even as they honor the Father." It 



Nature and Character of God. 39 

is also written of Him, "He needed not that any 
should testify of man, for He knew what was in 
man." "He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for- 
ever." His works, too, testify that He is God, for 
they are such as God only can perform. He turned 
water into wine, healed the sick, gave sight to die 
blind, cast out devils, raised the dead to life, and 
after His crucifixion rose from the dead the third 
day. Though His disciples performed similar mir- 
acles, they did so only in His name. Nor should it 
seem more mysterious that God himself should 
assume a human nature than that the soul should 
be united with the body. Yet He exists apart from 
Christ as well as in Christ. Christ, too, should bo 
regarded, not merely as a visible manifestation of 
God, as some have believed, but as truly God. Ho 
is both God and man ; as truly God as man. 

So, also, God is revealed to us as the Holy Spirit, 
or the Holy Ghost. How the Holy Spirit differs 
from God, who is a Spirit, is not explained, but He 
is called God, as when the Apostle Paul speaks of 
Christians as the temple of God and the temple of 
the Holy Ghost in the same connection. The appro- 
priate work of the Holy Spirit in renewing and 
sanctifying men belongs only to God. Baptism is 
also administered " in the name of the Father, and 
the Son, and the Holy Spirit ; " and He is included 
in the apostolic benediction, " The grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the com- 
munion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen." 

Thus it plainly appears that the only true God has 



40 Nature and Character of God. 

revealed himself to men as the Father, the Son, and 
the Holy Spirit, so that it is proper to address each, 
or all of them, as God. 

The Bible, also, teaches what is so well expressed 
in the Westminster Catechism : " God is a Spirit, 
infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wis- 
dom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth." 

God is a Spirit. As such He is distinct from 
matter, as our minds are, only He is infinite and 
independent, while our minds are finite and de- 
pendent. Though bodily members are ascribed to 
Him, the language is not to be understood literally, 
but as accommodated to our modes of thought. His 
eyes and ears express His knowledge. His hands 
and feet express His power. All that we know of 
God pertains to spirit, not matter. Intelligence, 
wisdom, and goodness do not belong to matter, but 
to spirit. Even power resides in the will that im- 
parts and controls it rather than in the matter that 
conveys it. When we strike a blow, not our arm, 
but our will exerts the power. So God, as a Spirit, 
created and upholds all things by the word of His 
power. " God is a Spirit ; and they that worship 
Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." 

God is eternal. He has always existed and always 
will exist. Though it is difficult for us, whose exist- 
ence has just begun, to conceive of a self-existing 
Being without a beginning, it is less difficult than 
to conceive of an uncreated being as beginning to 
exist, which, indeed, is impossible. All that reason, 
or the Bible, teaches on this subject is : " Before the 



Nature and Character of God. 41 

mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst 
formed the earth and the world, even from everlast- 
ing to everlasting, Thou art God." " Thou, O Lord, 
shalt endure forever; thy years shall have no 
end." 

God is omnipotent, almighty. There is no limit to 
His power. He who created all things can do what- 
ever he pleases ; can control and dispose of all things. 
When He shakes the earth so that the proudest works 
of men are overthrown ; when He lifts up or sinks 
mountains or islands ; when He stirs up the depths 
of the ocean, and dashes its waves upon the shore ; 
when He pours broad and deep rivers over roaring 
cataracts ; when He thunders in the storm, or flies in 
the whirlwind, how insignificant appears the power 
of man compared with His ! Think, too, of the 
power that whirls through space planets like Ju- 
piter, twelve hundred times larger than the earth, 
at the rate of thirty thousand miles an hour ; the 
sun, more than a million times larger than the 
earth, at the rate of three thousand miles a minute, 
yet holds millions of such swift orbs, so that they 
never deviate from their prescribed courses. 

Behold, too, the life-giving and life-preserving 
power exerted within and around us, that makes 
us living, active, and intelligent beings, and sur- 
rounds us with life in such multiplied forms ; trees, 
herbs, and flowers ; beasts and creeping things ; 
fish, birds, and insects, many of them so small that 
millions of them swarm in a single leaf, or a single 
drop of water. Amidst changes, decay, and death, 



42 Nature and Character of God. 

this power endures from age to age, diffusing every- 
where life, beauty, and joy. 

Nor is the power of God merely physical. It is 
moral and spiritual. It controls minds as well as 
matter. All intelligent and moral beings, no less 
than the universe they inhabit ; men, no less than 
animals and things, are entirely dependent on the 
will of their Creator. Even their thoughts, feelings, 
and purposes, though voluntary, are 'dependent on 
His will. ISTot even their free wills are unrestrain- 
ed and uncontrolled by a higher power than their 
own. 

Reason alone would teach us that nothing can be 
independent of the Creator ; that His power both 
over matter and mind is unlimited. The Bible 
affirms the same in numerous passages like these : 
" By the word of the Lord were the heavens made : 
For he spake and it was done ; he commanded and 
it stood fast." "He giveth to all life and breath 
and all things." " Behold, the nations are as a 
drop of the bucket, and are counted as the small 
dust of the balance: Behold, he taketh up the isles 
as a very little thing. It is he that sitteth on the 
circle of the earth ; that stretcheth out the heavens 
as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to 
dwell in." " In the Lord Jehovah is everlasting 
strength." " The Lord bringeth the counsel of the 
heathen to naught; he maketh the devices of the 
people of none effect." " The king's heart is in 
the hand of the Lord ; he turneth it whithersoever 
he will." " Surely the wrath of man shall praise 



Nature and Character of God. 43 

hee, and die remainder of wrath slialt thou re- 
train." 

God is omniscient, infinite in knowledge and wis- 
lom. He knows all things past, present, and future, 
infinite power without infinite knowledge and wis- 
lom to regulate and control it, would be awful. In- 
itead of producing such a harmonious and beautiful 
mi verse as we behold, it would tend only to con- 
cision and ruin. As he who makes an instrument 
nust know how to make it, and as imperfect know- 
edge on the part of the maker is sure to render an 
nstrument imperfect, so He who made all things, 
md made them so perfect, must possess infinite 
knowledge and wisdom. Without them He could 
riot have created us and all things, nor accomplish 
svise and good purposes. But though there are 
many things which we, ignorant as we are, cannot 
fully harmonize with his omniscience, we see enough 
to convince us that when his plans shall be com- 
pleted, they will appear to be the wisest and best 
that could be conceived. 

The microscope reveals imperfection in the finest 
works of art. It makes the edge of the sharpest 
razor appear like a saw. Apply it, however, to the 
works of God, and it will not reveal the slightest 
imperfection, but the most exquisite finish in the 
minutest parts. Every part of a butterfly's wing, 
magnified a thousand times, appears no less perfect 
and beautiful than the whole as it is usually seen. 
Considering, then, how infinite are the works of 
God in nature, and how many intelligent beings 



44 Nature and Character of God. 

owe their existence to Him, while not even a spar- 
row falls to the ground without Him, how can he 
be less than omniscient ? 

It is most difficult to conceive of God's foreknow- 
ledge in respect to the thoughts and volitions of 
such beings as we are, who are conscious that we 
think and act as we please. Yet this does not prove 
it to be impossible. " Known unto God are all his 
works from the foundation of the world." " He that 
planted the ear, shall he not hear ? he that formed 
the eye, shall he not see ? " " All things are naked 
and open to the eyes of him with whom we have 
to do." " O Lord, thou has searched me and known 
me ; thou knowest my down sitting and mine up- 
rising ; thou understandest my thoughts afar off; 
thou compassest my path and my lying down, and 
art acquainted with all my ways : the darkness and 
the- light are both alike to thee." 

Besides such passages of Scripture as those just 
cited, which plainly assert the omniscience of God, 
all the prophecies which have been fulfilled prove 
that he foreknows even the thoughts and volitions 
of men. Even Christ crucified and slain by wicked 
hands was delivered by the determinate counsel and 
foreknowledge of God. 

God is omnipresent. We should not think of Him 
as confined to any particular place, because we are. 
We are finite ; He is infinite. We should infer that 
He is present wherever His power is exerted, or Plis 
knowledge and wisdom are displayed, which is every- 
where. He is in one place as really as in another. 



Nature and Character of God. 45 

There is no place in which He is not. " Whither 
shall I go from thy Spirit ? whither shall I flee from 
thy presence ? If I ascend into heaven thou art 
there ; if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art 
there. If I take the win«;s of the morning and 
dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there 
shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall 
hold me." " Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, 
and not a God afar off? " " Can any hide himself 
in secret places that I shall not see him ? " " Do 
not I till heaven and earth ? saith the Lord." 

God is unchangeable, always the same. Possessing 
infinite knowledge, wisdom, and power, there can be 
no reason why He should change, and any change 
would make Him less perfect. Nor are there any 
indications that He has ever changed, or ever will 
change. What He does at one time may, indeed, be 
different from what He has done before, but it is a 
part of his unalterable purposes. Men constantly 
change. Their plans to-day may be altered to mor- 
row. They grow better or worse. One generation 
quickly succeeds another. Empires rise and fall. 
But " God is the same yesterday, to-day, and for- 
ever." " With whom is no variableness, neither 
shadow of turning." "I am the Lord, I change 
not." 

We have thus considered what are called the 
natural perfections or attributes of God. These are 
essential to his being ; without them he w r ould not 
be God ; but they do not determine his moral char- 
acter as good or evil. This depends on his moral 



46 Nature and Character of God. 

2)erfections, such as render him infinitely lovely 
and glorious, the only worthy object of religions 
worship. 

God is love. This best expresses his moral char- 
acter. It brings to view not simply one of his moral 
excellences, but all of them in one. As love com- 
prehends all that he requires of us, so his own 
infinite love comprehends all his moral perfections. 
His holiness, justice, goodness, mercy, and truth, 
are only different expressions of his love. His holi- 
ness is love disposing him to approve of whatever is 
right, and to hate all sin. His justice is love dis- 
posing him to reward the righteous and to punish 
the wicked, for the sake of promoting the greatest 
good. His goodness is love disposing him to make 
all his creatures happy so far as is consistent with 
justice. His mercy is love disposing him to forgive 
and save the guilty, and even disposed him to be- 
come incarnate, and to suffer for their sakes. His 
truth, or faithfulness, is love disposing him to fulfill 
all his promises and threatenings. 

God is holy. He approves of whatever is right, 
and hates all sin. This is evident from the fact that 
he has made us so that we approve of holiness, and 
disapprove of sin, especially as we see it in others. 
In all parts of the Bible he represents holiness as 
pleasing, and sin as displeasing to himself. He was 
not pleased but greatly displeased with the sin of 
Adam and Eve, the murder of Abel by his brother 
Cain, the wickedness of men before the Flood, also 
the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, the idolatry 



Nature a?id Character of God. 47 

of the ancient heathen nations, the hardness of Pha- 
raoh's heart, the murmurings of the Israelites in the 
wilderness, and their proneness to idolatry. Even 
the sins of the best men, such as Lot, Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, Moses and David, greatly dis- 
pleased him. In no instance has he ever justified 
gin, but he has uniformly condemned it. On the 
other hand, he has uniformly been pleased with the 
righteous, and approved of their righteous deeds. 
His holiness is often declared in the Scriptures as 
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts." "Thou art 
of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look 
on iniquity." "The heavens are not clean in his 
sio\ht." "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven 
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." 
God is just. He does not treat the good and bad 
alike. He rewards the righteous and punishes the 
wicked, not indeed immediately, nor in all respects 
in this life, as they deserve, but sooner or later. 
What appears like injustice will be rectified here- 
after. What is deferred in time will be executed 
in eternity. Virtue is rewarded and vice is pun- 
ished even now enough to show that God is just, 
especially in course of one's life-time. Dishonesty, 
vice, and crime may seem to go unpunished for a 
time, but it has been found that honesty is the best 
policy, and that virtue and morality are conducive 
to prosperity and happiness, while vice and crime 
lead to poverty and wretchedness. Moreover, the 
displays of justice in this life seem to point to a 
future retribution, so that even the wicked often 



48 Nature and Character of God. 

express the wish, " Let me die the death of the 
righteous, and let my last end be like his." God also 
forewarns us of the final judgment, when he will 
reward the righteous and punish the wicked accord- 
ing to the deeds done in the body, whether good or 
evil. Though, too, there is hope for sinners, even 
the chief, there would not have been if Christ had 
not suffered for us ; and even now there is no escape 
for the impenitent. That God can be just and the 
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus, will be 
considered in another connection, but it is a funda- 
mental truth of the Gospel. 

God is good, or henevolent. He desires and seeks 
the happiness of others. The existence of a great 
number and variety of living beings capable of en- 
joyment is proof of this. Their capacities for hap- 
piness show that he desires them to be happy, as 
happy as they are capable of being. When men 
make things they design them for the uses to w r hich 
they are adapted. So God evidently designed that 
his creatures should be happy. 

Our own existence, especially, is proof of God's 
goodness. We derive pleasure from life itself. It 
is pleasant to live. We enjoy sight. Music charms 
us. We relish our food and drink. Yarious kinds 
of knowledge afford us delight. We enjoy the 
society of relatives and friends. We are capable, 
too, of enjoying God, so that we may have on earth 
a foretaste of the happiness in heaven, and hereafter 
participate in fullness of joy. All this proves the 
goodness of our Creator, since he must have designed 



Nature and Character of God. 49 

and must still desire us to be as happy as he made 
us capable of being. 

There are, also, innumerable intelligent beings like 
ourselves endowed with equal or greater capacities 
for enjoyment. Millions of such beings have lived, 
or are still living, on the earth. Countless millions 
more, doubtless, inhabit other worlds. In heaven 
there is a great multitude which no man can num- 
ber. Though all such beings are not happy, all are 
capable of being so, and therefore prove that good- 
ness prompted God to create them, and still prompts 
him to preserve them. 

God, too, created and preserves beasts, fowls, fish, 
and all inferior living creatures, with various capaci- 
ties for enjoyment. There are obvious reasons why 
he should create different orders of beings. A greater 
amount of enjoyment is thus secured. But the mean- 
est creature capable of enjoying life affords proof of 
the goodness of the Creator, and if it should be 
measured by the number of his creatures and their 
capacities, how gieat is his goodness ! 

Another proof of God's goodness is the adaptation 
of things to the wants of his creatures. " Our health, 
food, and clothing, are means of enjoyment to us daily 
throughout our lives. Our frieuds and connections, 
also, contiuually and extensively contribute to our 
happiness. The pleasantness of the seasons ; the 
beauty and grandeur of the earth and the heavens; 
the various kinds of agreeable sounds ever fluctua- 
ting on our ears ; the immensely various and delight- 
ful uses of language ; the interchanges of thought and 



50 Nature and Character of God. 

feeling ; the peace and safety afforded by institutions 
of government ; the power of motion and the gratifi- 
cation of useful employments, are all daily and 
hourly sources of good to men, all furnished directly 
or indirectly by the hand of God. If we consider the 
number and importance of these and like blessings, 
and how constantly they are bestowed, we cannot 
fail, if we are influenced by a just and candid spirit, 
to unite with the Psalmist in his wish, " O that 
men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for 
his wonderful works to the children of men." " How 
excellent is thy loving kindness, O God. Thou 
crownest the year with thy goodness." 

Again, the actual enjoyment experienced by living 
creatures proves the goodness of God. Ordinarily, 
inferior creatures appear to enjoy life. They relish 
their food. They play, or lie down to repose. The 
birds sing. All kinds of animals seem gratified in 
Tarious ways. But they are all dependent on God. 
He supplies their wants, feeds the ravens, gives the 
beasts their food, and notices a sparrow falling to the 
ground. "The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou 
givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest 
thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living 
thing." 

Men, also, experience much enjoyment even in 
this world. Though more or less unhappy in many 
respects, they on the whole enjoy life, often verj 
much. There is much more happiness than misery 
among them. Nor should we measure the benevo- 
lence of God by the amount of enjoyment they ex- 



Nature and Character of God. 51 

perience, but rather by what they might experience 
if they did not mar their own peace, or if others did 
not disturb it. Sin produces much suffering and 
sorrow w T here God would diffuse only joy. Even 
the trials and afflictions of life are often ordered by 
him in great kindness. " Whom the Lord loveth lie 
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he re- 
ceiveth." Hence, though there is much sorrow in 
the world, we should not hesitate to say, " Blessed 
be the Lord who dailv loadeth us with benefits." 
"The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord." 
" O taste and see that the Lord is good." " The Lord 
is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his 
works." 

In regard to the objection that sin and misery are 
inconsistent with the goodness of God, it is a sufficient 
answer, that in view of the multiplied proofs of his 
goodness it is unreasonable to urge an objection 
which may arise from our ignorance. The kindest 
parents should not be distrusted by their children, 
who cannot understand all the reasons for the treat- 
ment which they receive, because in some respects 
it may seem unkind. No more should we distrust 
the goodness of God, because there are some things 
which at present seem inconsistent with it. AVe 
should especially regard ourselves as alone respon- 
sible for our sins, and the misery which flows from 
them. 

God is merciful. He is good to the ill-deserving. 
He bestows blessings on the evil and unthankful. He 
offers pardon to sinners. His mercy, too, is unlimited, 



52 Nature and Character of God. 

except by justice, and, in respect to men for whom 
salvation has been provided, it is unlimited, except 
by their own refusal of it. " God so loved the world 
that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in him might not perish, but have ever- 
lasting life." This will be particularly considered 
in another connection as exhibiting the mercy of 
God not only as consistent with his holiness and 
justice, but also blended with them in one wonder- 
ful expression of his love. We can never compre- 
hend fully ; we can only begin to comprehend with 
all saints, what is the length and breadth, and depth 
and height, and to know the love of Christ that 
passeth knowledge. We can only express it by 
saying, God so loved the world. 

The mercy of God is further manifested by his for- 
bearance and long suffering towards sinners. Some 
impeach his justice; others his goodness. Many 
neglect his worship, and profane his name. Some 
deceive, defraud, and oppress others. All are evil 
and unthankful. Yet he is gracious. He still in- 
vites, still urges them to accept the offer of pardon 
and eternal life. 

u While life prolongs its precious light, 

Mercy is found and peace is given." 

• 

What more could God do? "What," he asks, 
" could have been done more for my vineyard that 
I have not done?" . 

God is true and faithful. He will fulfill his word. 
His promises shall not fail. His threatenings, though 



Nature and Character of God. 53 

terrible to his enemies, will certainly be executed. 
The past is a pledge of the future. " God is not a 
man that he should lie." "Thy counsels of old are 
faithfulness and truth." " Thy faithfulness is unto 
all generations." 

THE PURPOSES OF GOD. 

God has purposes. He is not a listless, inactive 
Being, satisfied with mere existence without any 
worthy designs to accomplish or plans by which 
to accomplish them. A Being of infinite knowl- 
edge, wisdom, power, and goodness, must think of 
something to do and purpose to do it. Indeed all the 
proofs of God's existence are derived from His works, 
which He must have purposed before they were 
begun. 

The purposes of God are eternal. This is apt to 
seem incredible, especially in respect to men and 
other moral beings. It is thought that God must 
wait till He learn how we shall act before He can 
form His purposes respecting us. But it should 
be considered that His eternal purposes are also 
His present and future purposes, and just the same 
that they would be if they were not eternal. We 
cannot form any fixed p]an or unalterable purpose 
beforehand because we are so ignorant and depend- 
ent. We often find it desirable or necessary to 
change our minds in many respects. Our wisest 
plans are often frustrated in the midst of their 
execution. Our work is frequently left unfinished, 
and perhaps just begun. But we should not judge 



54 Nature and Character of God. 

of God by ourselves. He knew everything at the 
beginning as well as He knows it now, or ever will 
know it. Hence there is no reason why His pur- 
poses should not have been always the same that 
they are now or w T ill be at any future time. No 
unforeseen or unexpected event can ever occur to 
change them or make it desirable that they should 
be changed. " He is of one mind, and who can turn 
Him ? — and what His soul desireth even that He 
doeth." " My counsel," He says, " shall stand, and 
I will do all My pleasure." " Known unto God 
are all His works from the beginnino; of the WT>rld." 

The purposes of God extend to every person and 
every thing. Since He created and preserves all 
things, He must have had purposes respecting them 
either already fulfilled or being fulfilled, for it is in* 
conceivable that He should ever act without a pur- 
pose, that He should create and preserve the meanest 
creature or the least thing without any design. 

The eternal purposes of God are apt to suggest 
difficulties which cannot be fully explained and ob- 
jections which cannot be satisfactorily answered, but 
these should not lead us to disbelieve what reason 
and the Bible plainly teach. They arise from ig- 
norance, misconception, and wrong inferences. They 
relate chiefly to sin and moral responsibility, which 
we shall soon consider as consistent with His eternal 
purposes. Of one thing, however, we may be as- 
sured beforehand, that it is the eternal purpose of 
God that no one shall be compelled to be sinful or 
holy. This is as certain as anything else that He has 



Nature and Character of God. 55 

purposed, and none of His purposes can interfere 
with our free agency and moral responsibility whe- 
ther they seem to do so or not. 

What the purposes of God are, we may learn to 
some extent from what He has done, and more fully 
from His Word, though we should expect to know 
them only in part and very imperfectly. His chief 
design should seem to have been to create and pre- 
serve innumerable intelligent and moral beings more 
or less like ourselves to glorify and enjoy Him for 
ever. The material universe, vast and wonderful as 
it is, seems to be designed fur the abode of some such 
beings distinguished from mere spirits by bodily 
forms, various perhaps as the worlds they inhabit. 
The earth, at least, is fitted for the temporal abode 
of men, producing an abundant supply of food and 
clothed in beauty and grandeur. 

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 

The Providence of G-od is His direction and 
control of all events and all things for the fulfillment 
of His eternal purposes. Some seem to think that 
after creating the universe and establishing the laws 
of nature, He left them without any further care or 
control. Others think that He governs the universe 
by general laws, but that it is unworthy of Him to 
notice so insignificant a part of it as the earth or the 
people inhabiting it. It is supposed to be degrading 
to the character of God to think that He attends to 
such little things as interest us and fill up the history 
of mankind. The reason why some think thus is 



56 Nature and Character of God. 

because they judge God by -themselves. They can- 
not attend to many different things at the same 
time. If they are occupied with little things they 
must neglect more important things. Or they will 
not condescend to notice persons whom they regard 
as far inferior to themselves. Hence they imagine 
that God cannot or will not exercise a particular 
providence, though he may exercise a general 
providence. 

But how can the Providence of God be general 
without being particular? How can He regulate 
the whole without regulating each part ? How can 
His care and control extend to all men without 
extending to each individual? How can He take 
perfect care of individuals without attending to their 
least as well as their most important concerns ? To say 
that the Providence of God is only general and does 
not extend to individuals and particular things, is as 
inconsistent as to say that the power which moves a 
vast and complicated machine only moves the great 
wheels and not the little wheels. 

Besides, does it properly lower our conceptions of 
God to think that while He attends to the vast concerns 
of the universe, He also attends to the least things ? 
"We should not honor a statesman less who attends to 
the little wants of his children or helps the poor and 
needy, while he administers faithfullv the affairs of 
government. "No more should we think it unworthy 
of God, but rather a striking proof of His infinite 
excellence and greatness that while He guides suns 
and planets in their orbits he, at the same time, 



Nature and Character of God. 57 

makes every spire of grass grow, every leaf expand, 
and every flower bloom. How incomprehensible 
and past finding out He must be, who, while He 
upholds and governs the universe, attends also to its 
least concerns. We rob Him of his highest glory if 
we think that He does not care for the meanest of 
His creatures. 

The Providence of God is plainly taught in the 
Bible : " Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, 
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your 
heavenly father feedeth them." u Are not two spar- 
rows sold for a farthing ? and one of them shall not 
fall to the ground without your father." " But the 
very hairs of your head are all numbered." "Where- 
fore if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to- 
day is and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he 
not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" 
" A man's heart deviseth his wav, but the Lord 
directeth his steps." 

What is of less consequence than numbering the 
hairs of our head? What is less trifling than the 
falling of a sparrow? Since, then, God's care extends 
to these things, does it not extend to every thing? 
" He saith to the snow, be thou on the earth ; like- 
wise to the small rain and to the great rain of His 
strength." 

The Bible, also, furnishes many illustrations of 
God's overruling Providence, though, at the times 
referred to, He seemed to have no knowledge of what 
was transpiring. For instance, when Joseph was bold 
by his brethren, it would have seemed that if God had 



58 Nature and Character of God. 

any control over men He would have prevented such 
injustice and cruelty. Yet Joseph himself afterwards 
said to his brethren, Ye thought evil against me, but 
God meant it for good, to bring it to pass as at this 
day to save much people alive. So when he was 
falsely accused and imprisoned it might have seemed 
that God was unconcerned. " But the Lord was with 
him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and 
gave him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, 
king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt 
and all his house." 

A common objection to the belief of God's Provi- 
dence is the prevalence of sin and misery. But this 
is no more inconsistent with His Providence than it 
is with His wisdom and goodness without His Provi- 
dence. If it had resulted from the want of His care 
and control, it would seem that He might have pre- 
vented it by adopting the wisest and best means, but 
now, we should infer, that such means were used, 
though ineffectual, and that sin and misery will yet 
be overruled for ultimate good. 



THE MORAL GOVERNMENT OP GOD. 



The moral government of God is His authority 
and control over moral beings. Moral beings are 
such as are either holy or sinful. In this respect 
they are distinguished from other animate beings. A 
horse or a sheep is neither holy nor sinful ; but God 
and the angels in heaven are holy ; men and fallen 
angels are sinful. 

What chiefly constitutes a created moral being is 
reason, by which he can learn truths which cannot be 
perceived by the senses or instinct — such as the exis- 
tence of God and our obligations to Him and one 
another; conscience, by which he is capable of dis- 
tinguishing right from wrong; and will, or the power 
of choice between good and evil, holiness and sin. 

All beings possessing these faculties, reason, con- 
science, and will, are moral beings, holy or sinful, 
accordingly as they think, feel, and act right or 
wrong, from choice. Circumstances may affect the 
degrees of holiness or sinfulness, and, consequently, 
of the merited reward or punishment, but cannot 
essentially change the character. This is determined 
by a person's choice. If he uniformly chooses right, 
he is holy ; if he ever chooses what he knows or might 
know is wrong, he is sinful. An ignorant person 
may be less sinful than he otherwise would be ; so 

59 



6o Moral Governmeitt of God. 

may a person surrounded with bad influences or 
exposed to very great temptations ; but any evil 
thought, feeling, or act, that is voluntary, makes 
him a sinner, though not if it be really involuntary. 

God holds all created moral beings accountable to 
Himself as their Righteous Judge. This is, evidently, 
right and just. Indeed, it would be plainly wrong 
and unjust for Him to allow such beings to commit 
sin, and thus injure others as well as dishonor Him 
without holding them responsible for their sins, and 
punishing them sooner or later as they deserve. It 
should seem right and just, also, that He should re- 
ward all holy beings with His favor and such happi- 
ness as they are capable of enjoying. 

A sense of moral responsibility to God is natural 
to men. That most distinguished statesman, Daniel 
Webster, once said with the deepest seriousness, The 
most important thought that ever occupied my mind 
was that of my individual responsibility to God. 
So most reflecting minds are impressed .with the same 
thought. It cannot be eradicated from human con- 
sciousness. Believe what they may, and reason as 
they may, men cannot get rid of the conviction that 
they are accountable to a Supreme Being, and so far 
as they have a knowledge of Him, to God. They 
may generally be unmindful of or disregard it, yet it 
often flashes on their minds. Many, it is true, are so 
ignorant and degraded that they seem to have no 
sense of it, and some persons eminent for their learn- 
ing and of superior intelligence, discard the idea of 
any higher authority than that of civil government ; 



Moral Government of God. 61 

yet, even in these cases, men often feel more than 
they appear to or acknowledge. "We might," as 
another writer has remarked, " follow the man whose 
conscience seemed seared and whose heart seemed 
reprobate, and in his hours of calm reflection we 
should see the banished idea of responsibility return- 
ing in its vividness, and the dread of a Supreme and 
Omniscient Being forcing itself upon the soul. Es- 
pecially we would make our appeal to minds where 
the conscience sits invested with some authority, and 
where she is listened to with some degree of deference ; 
where the moral sense is not drowned in sensuality, 
nor bewildered and led astray by a false philosophy ; 
and in such minds we shall find that the conscious- 
ness of moral responsibility springs up naturally, and 
is strong." 

"What, too, would be the condition of the world 
and the state of society if the idea of accountability 
to God should be obliterated from every mind % The 
" reign of terror " in France, when in the streets of 
Paris human blood flowed like water ; and the more 
recent history of that unhappy country furnish a 
striking example of the consequences which would 
result from banishing entirely a sense of moral 
responsibility to God. It is a happy thing for us 
and for human' society that the impression, though 
far too • feeble, is generally prevalent, that the 
Searcher of hearts knows all that transpires with- 
in and around us, and will hereafter render to 
every one according to his works, whether they 
be good or whether they be evil. " God shall judge 



62 Moral Government of God. 

the righteous and the wicked. I, the Lord, search 
the heart;" " I try the reins even to give to every 
man according to the fruit of his doings." 

Perfect obedience to the will of God is required 
of His moral subjects. This is taught more or 
less clearly by their consciences, enlightened as 
they are or might be by reason, and such knowl- 
edge as they are capable of acquiring. It was 
first expressed in the moral law, the Ten Com- 
mandments, written on two tables of stone, and 
given to Moses on Mount Sinai. It was afterwards 
more fully revealed in the prophecies and the 
Psalms of the Old Testament. But it is most 
clearly revealed by Christ and the Apostles in 
the New Testament. It is comprehended as Christ 
said in these two commandments: "Thou shalt 
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and 
thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." " Love 
is the fulfilling of the law." 

HOLY ANGELS. 

All moral beings were created holy, and it should 
seem that most of them still remain so. The num- 
ber of holy angels is represented as very great. A mul- 
titude of the heavenly host appeared to the shep- 
herds to whom the birth of Christ was announced, 
yet it should be supposed that these were only 
a small p*art of the whole number. It should seem 
probable that far the greater part of the universe, 
inconceivably vast as it is, abounds with various 
orders of intelligent beings who delight in the 



Holy Angels. 63 

worship and service of God. There are Thrones, 
Dominions, Principalities, and Powers, all created 
by Him and for Him. There are Cherubim and 
Seraphim above His throne. In Revelation the 
number of angels round about the throne is said 
to be ten thousand times ten thousands, and thou- 
sands of thousands, which, doubtless, means an 
indefinitely great number. These are all holy. 
They all love God supremely. They are all heartily 
engaged in His worship and service. " They rest 
not day nor night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord 
God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." 

Angels are very exalted and superior beings. Of 
the angel that came to roll away the stone from 
Christ's sepulcher it is written : " His countenance 
was like lightning, and his raiment was white as 
snow, and for fear of him the keepers became 
as dead men." The Apostle John wrote : " I saw 
another angel coming down from heaven clothed 
with a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head, 
and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet 
as pillars of fire." These emblems of their char- 
acter and rank denote their superiority, especially 
as compared with men. 

Angels, also, are endowed with wonderful power 
and activity. They are described as mighty, and 
excelling in strength. An angel destroyed in three 

davs three-score and ten thousand out of Judah 

t/ 

because David numbered the people. Another 
angel destroyed in one night an hundred, four- 
score, and five thousand of Sennacherib's army. 



64 Moral Government of God. 

Angels are represented as flying swiftly, appearing 
suddenly from heaven as though their speed could 
not be measured by time. 

Angels, too, as it appears, are acquainted with 
the condition and interested in the welfare of men. 
" Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth 
to minister for them who shall be heirs of salva- 
tion ? " " Which things the angels desire to look 
into." At the birth of Christ angels brought the 
good tidings of great joy, and proclaimed peace 
on earth, good- will to men. There is joy, too, in 
the presence of the angels when one sinner re- 
pents. Since, also, Christ represented Lazarus when 
he died as carried by angels into Abraham's bosom, 
it may be inferred that they attend the sick beds 
of God's chosen people and accompany their spirits 
to the heavenly rest. 

This, then, is one of the sublime and glorious 
truths taught in the Bible, that men are not the 
only intelligent beings God has created, but there 
is an innumerable company of angels in His pre- 
sence, or sent on errands of love and mercy to 
various parts of the universe, all holy and blessed 
for ever. It is fitted, also, to beget in ourselves 
the highest aspirations and noblest purposes, since, 
as we shall consider at another time, it is our 
privilege, through the redemption that is in Christ, 
to become like them and share in their everlast- 
ing happiness. 



Fallen Angels. 65 

FALLEN ANGFXS. 

It is sad, indeed, to turn away from the glory 
of God and the blessedness of holy angels, to con- 
sider the prevalence of sin and misery. But as 
there are spots on the sun shining in full splendor, 
so there is sin and misery in the moral universe. 
To us, in the midst of one spot, it may seem that the 
darkness is greater than the light ; that it is mid- 
night, with scarcely the dawn of day ; or being 
accustomed to the darkness w r e may call it, as many 
do, light. But this is not what the Bible teaches. 
It does not leave sin and misery out of view, or 
represent them as trifling evils, but it leads us to 
believe that they are confined to a comparatively 
small number of intelligent beings, and these so 
controlled by God that their sins are being overruled 
for good, and will be the occasion of greatly in- 
creased happiness in the universe. 

It may seem mysterious that perfectly holy beings 
should become sinful, yet the Bible speaks of angels 
who kept not their first estate, but left their own 
habitation, being reserved in everlasting chains, 
under darkness, unto the judgment of the great 
day. It also represents the number of such beings, 
though comparatively few, as very great, and their 
power for evil as very dreadfu 1 . The chief among 
them is the Demi. The rest are his angels, so united 
with him in his malicious designs, that ail the evil 
they do is properly ascribed to him as their leader. 

How the Devil and his angels became sinful is not 
explained, nor is it important for us to know. It 



66 Moral Government of God. 

only concerns us to guard our minds and hearts 
against their corrupting influence. Yet it is certain 
that God is not the author of sin ; that He hates 
it, though he permits it, and overrules it for good. 
It must have originated in those who first committed 
it. It should seem, too, that finite moral beings 
must be liable to sin since they must act from choice, 
or cease to be moral beings. For aught we know, 
some would certainly sin under the wisest and 
best moral government that could exist, and we 
should infer this from the fact that there is sin 
under the moral government of God. Though it 
would, doubtless, have been better if none had 
sinned, and all had remained holy as they were 
created, we have no reason to think His govern- 
ment itself could have been better than it is. 

It should seem, also, that temptations to sin may 
arise from what constitutes a perfect moral being, 
Adam and Eve were exposed to temptations from 
their bodily appetites and passions, which, in them- 
selves, were good and useful. Temptations, too, may 
arise from such mental characteristics as self-reliance, 
ambition, self-esteem, or just pride, without which 
what would moral beings be worth ? Pride, indeed, 
not itself sinful, but becoming inordinate, seems to 
have been the first sin, as may be inferred from the 
passage of Scripture : " Not . a novice, lest being 
lifted up with pride, he fall into the condemnation 
of the devil/' This and other sources of tempta- 
tion, when subject to the will of God, contribute 
to the highest perfection of moral beings. Temp- 



Fallen Angels, 67 

tation itself is not sin. When resisted it strengthens 
the character. To overcome temptation is noble, 
heroic. It makes a holy being more holy. Would 
it have been better if God had not permitted the 
angels that sinned or men to be tempted ? Is it 
better to keep a child entirely removed from tempta- 
tion, or that he should have such a disposition that he 
would never be tempted ? Is it not rather best that 
temptation, whether weak or strong, should always 
be resisted ? Would it not have been best if the 
fallen angels had overcome it? They laight have 
done so. They were not compelled to sin. They 
sinned from choice. Sin is voluntary, otherwise 
it is not sin. What is written as applicable to 
us was. doubtless, equally applicable to them. " God 
is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted 
above that ye are able, but will, with the tempta- 
tion, make a way to escape, that ye may be 
able to bear it." Since, then, they yielded to temp- 
tation, it was just that they should be banished 
from His presence, and it is probable that they 
did not need to be driven out of heaven, but 
that, as it is written, they left their own habita- 
tion, and, of their own accord, fled into the black- 
ness of darkness for ever. Sinners naturally shun 
holy beings, and fear God. 

The knowledge, of evil as the consequence of 
sin is evidently a powerful means of preventing 
it, and, for aught we know, any moral beings with- 
out such knowledge would be apt to yield to temp- 
tation, and the fallen angels may have been the 



68 Moral Governmerit of God. 

means of confirming the rest in holiness. Or, 
though we should suppose, that God could have 
created moral beings so that none would sin, for 
aught we know they must have been very inferior 
beings. Sin is not, therefore, the necessary means 
of the greatest good, for none have been compelled 
to commit it ; and it would have been inconceivably 
better, and more pleasing to God, if all had proved 
steadfast in holiness ; but it should seem that sin has 
been wisely permitted, as the means of confirming 
holy beings in holiness and exalting them to a higher 
degree of moral perfection. Sinners, too, who repent 
and become holy will be more holy than they other- 
wise would have been. They will love God more 
and be more devoted to His worship and service. 
"To whom much is forgiven the same loves much." 

The question then arises, would it have been better 
if God had not created any moral beings or only 
inferior beings, instead of permitting so much sin 
and misery? Should all the joy in heaven be 
extinguished to prevent the misery of the wicked ? 
If the happiness of holy beings makes sin and 
misery necessary, we answer, Yes. Let God be just. 
But if the guilt of sin rests on sinners ; if God is 
in no respects responsible for it ; if he hates it, 
and only permits it as the occasion of the greatest 
good, then, though the fallen angels are reserved 
in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judg- 
ment of the great day ; though the earth is filled with 
sin and misery; and though we are ourselves sinners, 
justly exposed to utter and endless misery, we say 



The Fall of Man. 69 

God is holy, and just, and good, and all the holy 
angels sing, Alleluia, for the Lord God Omnipotent 
reign eth. 

CREATION OF MAN. 

" God created man in his own image, in the image 
of God created he him." Whatever else this may 
mean, it means that man was created holy. As such 
our first parents w T ere happy in the enjoyment of 
God and the consciousness of their own dignity and 
excellence. They were placed in the garden of Eden 
filled with everything that w T as good for food or plea- 
sant to the eye — a beautiful and magnificent abode, in 
which there was no need of toil, but only pleasant em- 
ployment, without anxiety or care, without trouble 
or sorrow, without fear or danger. They were created, 
too, to be the parents of many millions who were to 
be born like themselves, innocent and happy, to peo- 
ple the earth. They were to fill the world with their 
offspring, all like themselves, the children of God, 
and heirs of everlasting life. 

THE TEMPTATION AND FALL OF MAN. 

One condition only was to be fulfilled that our 
first parents and their offspring might be for ever 
happy. "The Lord commanded the man, saying, 
Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, 
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 
thou shalt not eat of it ; for in the day thou eatest 
thereof thou shalt surely die." This was to test their 
love and obedience, for which, chiefly, God could re- 
gard them with favor. "What would a moral being 



JO Moral Government of God. 

be worth without love ? What is love without obe- 
dience ? And what is obedience that can be secured 
only by removal from all temptation ? Parents 
expect their children to obey them though they may 
be ever so strongly tempted, and they are most 
pleased when their children prove firm and steadfast 
in their obedience in the midst of great temptations 
and in spite of powerful corrupting influences. It 
was proper, therefore, that God should permit them 
to be tempted. Nor was the temptation too great to 
be resisted, though, as presented by the devil, it was, 
doubtless, much greater than it appears to have been. 
Adam and Eve were not compelled to sin. There 
was no eternal decree of God that made it necessary 
for them to pluck and eat the forbidden fruit. They 
did it from choice, and after being plainly forewarned 
of the consequences ; they might have done other- 
wise. They could have resisted and overcome the 
temptation, though all the allurements and entice- 
ments that Satan could devise were presented to their 
minds. Oh, that they had stood firm in their obe- 
dience to God! They would then have displayed a hero- 
ism unknown in the history of mankind. Then Eden 
would have' been the Thermopylae of the world — the 
place where holiness and happiness triumphed over 
sin and misery. God would have been as much 
pleased with the confirmed holiness of our first 
parents and their posterity as He has been displeased 
with their sinfulness, and the earth would have been 
filled ever since with peace and joy instead of suf- 
fering and sorrow. 



Moral Government of God. yi 

But the result of the temptation of Adam and 
Eve in Eden is well known. " By one man sin en- 
tered into the world, and death by sin, and so death 
passed upon all men, for that all ha.ve sinned." 

M Earth felt the wound, and Nature, from her seat, 
Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe 
That all was lost." 

Here, it should 'be considered, that sin is not con- 
fined to the external act of disobedience, but chiefly 
affects the heart. Before our first parents plucked 
and ate the forbidden fruit they had become sinful. 
The spirit of disobedience was begotten within them, 
and their sinfulness did not cease w r hen they ceased 
eating the fruit. They were not like children who 
disobey their parents, yet retain their filial affection, 
but they had ceased to love God supremely, and had 
become selfish. It is probable -that they soon re- 
pented, but they could not be restored to their orig- 
inal state of holiness. They had fallen, and the 
consequences of their fall they could not escape. 
God had forewarned them, "In the day thou eatest 
thereof thou shalt surely die," and having sinned 
they had begun to suffer the penalty of sin. This 
may have included the death of the body referred to 
afterwards, but it was already executed. The life of 
holiness had been extinguished. Death in sin had 
followed. It was no longer pleasant for our first 
parents to hear the voice of the Lord God walking 
in the midst of the garden. They were afraid and 



J2 Moral Government of God. 

hid themselves, not because they were naked, but 
because they had sinned. 

It has been thought unreasonable to consider spirit- 
ual death or a sinful state as a part of the penalty of 
sin. Perhaps it is not. Perhaps the proper penalty 
of sin consists only in the suffering and sorrow con- 
nected with it. Yet it cannot be denied that sin 
leads to sin, that one step downward naturally leads 
to another, and then another, till, ere long, with 
rapid strides, a hopeless perdition is reached. Hence 
we tremble when we see any one beginning a career 
of vice and crime, or even when he regards any sins 
as trifling and persists in them. Now, indeed, there 
is hope for sinners as long as they live, but if there 
had been no Saviour there would have been no sal- 
vation from sin. Like leprosy, it would have been 
incurable, everlasting death. Such were the natural 
consequences of sin to our first parents. They were, 
also, driven out of Eden, deprived of the favor of 
God, and cursed with the various ills of life and with 
death, as well as exposed to everlasting destruction. 

THE SINFULNESS OF MEN IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE 

FALL. 

It is seldom denied that all men are sinners. Some 
consider sin as unavoidable in our present state, and, 
therefore, a misfortune rather than sin. Others 
regard it as a trifling evil not deserving much notice, 
except in some flagrant forms of vice and crime. 
But all admit that they are sinners, or, at least, that 
others are. 



Sinfulness of Men. 73 

How we became sinful is, in some respects, a ques- 
tion of little importance compared with the question, 
What must I do to be saved ? — but in other respects 
it is of great importance. At any rate it is often 
asked, and the Bible answers it, though it does not 
explain how or why such consequences followed the 
act to which they are ascribed. "By one man sin 
entered into the world ; " " by the offense of one judg- 
ment came upon all men to condemnation ; " " by 
one man's disobedience many were made sinners." 
These different expressions of the Apostle Paul all 
plainly refer to the sin of Adam as having occasioned 
the sinfulness of all his posterity. This has been 
thought unreasonable and unjust, but apart from the 
Scriptures it accords with well known facts. It is 
certain that children resemble their parents more or 
less in their features, physical constitution, minds 
and dispositions. They inherit diseases, strong or 
weak intellects, good or bad dispositions or traits of 
character, yet less uniformly than they inherit a 
corrupt nature that certainly leads them, sooner or 
later, to commit sin. Some call this a sinful nature. 
Others prefer to call it neither sinful nor holy. But 
it is such that all men become sinners. 

There has been much controversy about the guilt 
of Adam's sin, owing chiefly to different meanings 
attached to the word guilt. Some say all are guilty 
of his sin, meaning that all are liable to suffer for 
it as in the case of infants, who often suffer much, 
and even die before they are considered capable of 
sinning. Others say that nane are guilty of any sin 



74 Moral Government of God. 

except their own, meaning that they are not blam- 
able for it, and need not repent of it. The former 
meaning was once common, but not at present. 
Hence, though all suffer more or less in consequence 
of the fall, none are properly guilty except of their 
own sins. " The soul that sinneth it shall die." " The 
son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither 
shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the 
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, 
and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon 
him." 

It is apt to seem hard that we should be liable to 
sin and suffering in consequence of the sin of Adam 
nearly six thousand years ago. But it should be 
considered that though all are born so that they sin 
as soon as they are capable of sinning, none are really 
compelled to sin, all act from choice — sin is voluntary ■ 
otherwise it is not sin. Besides, would it have been 
better if each one had been put on trial for himself ? 
Think of the fallen angels, for whom there is no sal- 
vation. If we had not shared in the consequences of 
the fall we could not have shared in the benefits of 
Christ's redemption. " For as by one man's dis- 
obedience many were made sinners, so by the obe- 
dience of one shall many be made righteous." "Where 
sin abounded grace did much more abound." It is 
by no means certain that all would not have become 
sinners if they had been created holy and put on 
trial each one for himself, and if any had fallen there 
could have been no salvation for them. It should 
seem, therefore, that God's purposes are wiser than 



Sinfulness of Men. 75 

the opinions of men. u The foolishness of God is 
wiser than men." 

MEN NATURALLY DESTITUTE OF HOLINESS. 

All men are naturally not only sinful, but entirely 
destitute of holiness. This means the same as total 
depravity, but the latter term is more liable to be 
misunderstood, and is apt to convey the impression 
that men are as bad as they can be, which, certainly, 
is not true. On the contrary, the worst men have 
many good qualities, and exhibit many excellent 
traits of character. Generally there is much more 
that is good in men than bad. In many instances 
they are naturally lovely, and exhibit the most shin- 
ing virtues. They are often generous, patriotic, 
heroic. We should never really despise ourselves 
or others. All men still bear the image of their 
Creator, though defaced, Many, even as they are 
naturally, are highly useful and adorn society. Christ 
loved the 3^oung man, to whom He said, Yet lackest 
thou one thing. That one thing was, evidently, 
supreme love to God to take the place of supreme 
selfishness. Others are naturally destitute of the 
same. Holiness is wanting. Sin only reigns in the 
natural heart. 

The distinction between holiness and moralitv 
or virtue is apt to be overlooked, but is of the 
utmost importance. A child may be ever so good 
to his chosen companions, but if he has no filial 
affection and no regard for his parent's authority 
or wishes he is not pleasing or acceptable to them, 



j6 Moral Government of God. 

and if he should persist in such treatment of them 
they might justly disown and disinherit him. So God 
is justly displeased with the best men in their natu 
ral state ; for, though, they may be ever so amiable 
and virtuous in their dispositions and conduct to- 
wards men, they are ungrateful and disobedient to 
God. The language of their hearts is, "Depart, 
from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy 
ways. What is the Almighty that we should serve 
him ? And what profit shall we have if we pray to 
Him ? " The Bible speaks of them as the enemies of 
God : i% The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it 
is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can 
be." " Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth ! for 
the Lord hath spoken ; I have nourished and brought 
up children and they have rebelled against me." 

In gratitude , disobedience, enmity, rebellion! What 
is thought of an ungrateful child ? How ought a 
disobedient son to be regarded ? How should the 
enemies of a good and wise .Ruler be treated? What 
should be done with rebels against a good govern- 
ment? But sin is ingratitude, disobedience, enmity, 
rebellion against God. As much, therefore, as God 
is greater and holier than men, so much is the guilt 
of sinners aggravated in His sight. 

But many say, I am not conscious of any enmity 
towards God, on the contrary, admire Him, and feel 
very grateful for His mercies. The most profane and 
wicked say this no less sincerely than the virtuous 
and upright, and so they feel towards their God, such 
a Being as they imagine God to be; but the God of 



Sinfulness of Men. yy 

the Bible, rightly understood and fully believed, they 
have no faith in ; He is not in all their thoughts ; tho 
idea of Him is dreadful to them; they do not like to 
retain Him in their knowledge. The God of purer 
eyes than to behold evil, and who cannot look on ini- 
quity, they have no sympathy with ; the God of Pro- 
vidence, dispensing evil as well as good ; the God that 
hates sin, and will by no means clear the guilty ; the 
God that will only reward the righteous with ever- 
lasting life, and will punish the wicked with everlast- 
ing destruction ; the true God, Jehovah, they do not 
love. If they think of Him, as He is revealed in the 
Scriptures, they feel opposed to Him and His laws. 
Many have said, and more think, that such a Being 
as the Bible represents Him to be would be a tyrant. 
The history of mankind proves that they are natu- 
rally destitute of love to God. The heathen, though 
the invisible things of Him from the creation of the 
world are clearly seen, being understood by the 
things that are made, have, for ages, worshiped idols 
of wood and stone, beasts and creeping things, in- 
stead of the true God. The Jews, His chosen people, 
to whom He had revealed Himself by special signs 
and wonders, were long prone to idolatry, killed His 
prophets, rejected and crucified His Son, their Sa- 
viour. In Christian countries, Atheists have been 
numerous, and Infidels have written volumes to 
prove that the Bible is not true; large masses of 
the people utterly disregard it, desecrate the Sab- 
bath, neglect religious worship, or conform only to 
its outward rites and ceremonies. Every where pro- 



78 Moral Government of God. 

fanity is heard. Gross vices abound. Dishonesty, 
fraud, oppression, cruelty, murder, and wars, are 
common. Thus, it appears, that men are naturally 
sinful rather than holy — not merely sinful in some 
respects, but though more or less good and praise- 
worthy, in no respects truly holy, devoted to God, 
and obedient to His will. 

It has been admitted that there are many natural 
excellences and shining virtues among men. But 
it should also be considered how much even these 
have been improved and adorned under the influence 
of the Christian religion. To learn what men natu- 
rally are, what all would have been without the 
influence of God's grace, we need to look at the 
degradation and vices of the heathen contrasted 
with the civilization and refinement of Christian 
nations. Yet we are taught that the difference is 
less in reality than in appearance ; that the heathen 
are not naturally worse than others, and even that it 
will be more tolerable for them in the day of judg- 
ment than for many of the most enlightened and 
refined in Christian countries. " All have sinned, 
and come short of the glory of God." " Both Jews 
and Gentiles are all under sin." "There is none that 
seeketh after God. There is none that doeth good, 
no, not one." 

THE NATURAL AND PENAL CONSEQUENCES OF SIN. 

Sin produces misery. It has occasioned all the 
misery that has been in the world, and leads to utter 
and endless misery. It has brought with itself care, 
trouble, toil, degradation, ignorance, poverty, wretch- 



Consequences of Sin. yg 

edness, shame, remorse, sorrow, pain, sickness, and 
death — all human woes. It often prompts the ex- 
clamation, " O that I had wings like a dove, for then I 
would fly away and be at rest!" We are so accus- 
tomed to evils that we seldom think they might have 
been less. They seem so unavoidable that we are 
not apt to realize that they are the consequences of 
sin. They lead us to doubt the wisdom and goodness 
of God, and, perhaps, to complain of injustice in His 
providential dispensations, though we ought only to 
repent of and forsake sin, and, if possible, bring 
others to repentance. Misery prevails, not because 
God is regardless of it or unmerciful, but because 
men are sinners. Death is attended with misery. 
The fear of it, its pangs, its gloom, and its terrors, 
are dreadful ; yet death passed on all men, for that 
all have sinned. 

Misery is, to a great extent, the natural conse- 
quence of sin. If our first parents had been permit- 
ted to remain in the garden of Eden and to eat of 
its fruit after their fall, they would have been un- 
happy there. If God had continued to visit and talk 
with them they would have continued to be afraid 
of Him, and to hide from His presence. The loss of 
God's favor, remorse, shame, and forebodings of evil, 
were enough to embitter their existence even in the 
midst of plenty and the loveliest scenes. But they 
were, also, driven out of Eden under the displeasure 
and curse of God. Apart too, from the plan of 
salvation, their misery would have been hopeless 
and eternal. 



8o Moral Government of God. 

Such, likewise, have been the sad consequences of 
sin in all ages, and they are still the same. De- 
prived of communion with God, sinners feel an 
aching void in their souls which they vainly en- 
deavor to fill with worldly vanities and pleasures. 
A consciousness of guilt disturbs their peace. 
Thoughts of death and the judgment to come 
alarm them. "Weary of toil, burdened with cares, 
afflicted with pain, sickness, and losses of property 
and friends, disquieted by the jealousies, envyings, 
reproaches, and injuries of others, their cup of sor- 
row is often full and overflowing. " Man is born to 
trouble as the sparks fly upwards." " The wicked 
are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose 
waters cast up mire and dirt." " There is no peace, 
saith my God, to the wicked." 

There is much, indeed, to mitigate human misery 
in this world. Men have many pleasures. On the 
whole they enjoy life. Many of the ungodly prosper 
in the world ; they increase in riches. Sometimes sin 
appears to be more profitable than holiness. But 
this is because sentence against an evil work is not 
executed speedily ; because God is gracious, forbear- 
ing, and long-suffering ; because the uplifted arm of 
justice is stayed, and the voice of mercy pleads, 
Spare, yet a little longer. But, sooner or later, the 
judgment will come, and the dreadful consequences 
of sin overtake the guilty. 

" But soon, ah soon ! approaching night 
Will blot out every hope of heaven/' 



Moral Government of God, 81 

SELF-JUSTIFICATION IMPOSSIBLE. 

Justification with God is being regarded and 
treated by Him as innocent. Holy beings are jus- 
tified because they have always been holy. Sinners 
can be justified only by offering a sufficient excuse 
for their sins, or a sufficient reason why they should 
be forgiven, and not punished as they deserve. 

Men usually attempt to justify themselves. Adam 
did so when he said, The woman thou gavest to be 
with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 
Eve did the same when she said, The serpent be- 
guiled me, and I did eat. But their excuses availed 
nothing. So the excuses of others avail nothing. 
Some attempt to throw the blame back on our first 
parents, because if they had not sinned their pos- 
terity would have been holy ; or, on God, because 
He so constituted them that they sinned in con- 
sequence of the fall. Others attempt to throw 
the blame still further back on the foreknowledge 
and eternal decrees of God, as though these made 
them sinners. These excuses have been offered more 
than any others, and they are the most plausible that 
can be conceived, yet will not avail with God, and 
are not really satisfactory to those who urge them ; 
because they know that sin is entirely voluntary, 
they are conscious that neither the foreknowledge of 
God, nor His eternal decrees, nor their corrupt nature 
derived from Adam, nor the temptations of the world 
and the devil, have ever compelled them to sin con- 
trary to their own choice. The Bible, it is true, 
speaks of God's foreknowledge as extending to every 



82 Justification. 

thing, and of sin as the consequence of the fall and 
temptations, but it never mentions them as excuses 
for sin. Besides they never accept of such excuses 
from others. "Who ever heard of any one forgiving 
an injury because the foreknowledge of God, or His 
eternal decree, or the sin of Adam, made the injury 
necessary, so that the person who did it is not respon- 
sible, and should not be punished for it ? Who ever 
heard such reasons given by a judge for acquitting 
thieves and murderers ? Why do men build prisons 
and confine criminals in them if they believe that 
such excuses for sin are sufficient to justify them ? It 
is not safe, then, to rely on them or any others. 
When sinners shall stand before their righteous 
Judge they will be speechless. 

Another common method of self-justification is 
good icorks. It seems to be assumed that one good 
deed must atone for many sins, and it is often easy 
for one to strike the balance in his own favor, pro- 
vided the examination is not very strict, by consider- 
ing his sins few and trifling, and his good deeds many 
and great. But the difficulty consists in making 
one's estimate of himself agree with the standard by 
which God judges him. It is written : " Whosoever 
shall keep the whole law and yet ofiend in one point, 
he is guilty of all." This evidently means that a life 
of perfect holiness in other respects would not atone 
for one sin. This principle, too, is considered just in 
human governments. Though a person may have 
been a good and useful citizen many years, if he once 
steals or commits murder, he is ever afterwards a 



Moral Government of God. 83 

criminal. His past life does not justify him fortheft 
or murder in a single instance, nor can his future life, 
though ever so good. Much less can sinners justify 
themselves. None have kept the whole law and of- 
fended only in one point, and none will be perfectly 
holy the rest of their lifetime. "Therefore by the 
deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in His 
sight. Cursed is every one that cohtinueth not in 
all things written in the book of the law to do them." 
A religious life of some kind is much relied on for 
self-justification. The idea has probably been derived 
from Divine authority, though grossly perverted and 
misapplied. Sacrifices were early required, and 
various rites and ceremonies were afterwards insti- 
tuted by Divine appointment to impress on the minds 
of men the need of something to render them accept- 
able to God. These, or other forms of religious wor- 
ship, have been widely substituted for what they 
signified. In heathen countries religion has degene- 
rated into sacrifices offered to idols. Even where 
the true God is worshiped there are multitudes 
having the form of godliness, but denying the 
power thereof. The more strict persons are in 
their religious observances the more they are apt 
to think themselves justified. Much reading of the 
Bible, many prayers and confessions, frequent fast- 
ing, regular attendance on public worship, being 
baptized and partaking of the Lord's Supper, many 
think will make them acceptable to God. Such 
religious duties are required, indeed, but not as the 
means of justification. As such they avail nothing. 



84 Moral Government of God. 

"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices 
unto me ? saith the Lord. I delight not in the blood 
of lambs or of he goats. Bring no more vain obla- 
tions ; incense is an abomination to me ; the new 
moons and Sabbaths, the calling of assemblies I can- 
not away with ; it is iniquity, even the solemn meet- 
ing. And when ye spread forth your hands I will 
hide mine eyes from you, and when ye make many 
prayers I will not hear." " How should man be just 
with God ? " 

THE PLEA FOR JUSTICE. 

Despairing of self-justification, many urge the plea 
for justice on the part of God. They think they 
have already suffered as much as, or more than they 
deserve, and that it is time to be released from the 
penalty of sin. Or they flatter themselves with the 
idea that what they suffer in this world must certain 
ly be sufficient, and that death will be the end of 
their punishment, as though sin pertained to the body 
and not to the soul. Some apprehending that justice 
may not be so easily appeased, and perceiving that 
there are many wrongs which are not rectified in the 
present life, extend the period of retribution beyond 
time, but to a limited period. They think they know 
what is just as well as God, and expect to suffer all 
that justice demands without asking for mercy. 

We shall only remark here, that most persons are 
not satisfied with this plea, and are not willing to 
suffer as much as they feel they deserve, but are 
hoping for mercy. It is difficult, too, to prove from 
the Scriptures that the punishment of sinners is lim- 



Justification. 85 

ited to the present life, or in its duration after death. 
The common impression derived from the language 
used is, that it will be endless. 

THE PLEA FOR MERCY ALONE. 

A great many rely on the mercy of God alone to 
save them. Their plea is that a Being of infinite 
mercy will not punish sinners as they deserve, but 
only afflict them enough to bring them sooner or 
later to repentance. They say, Our Heavenly Father 
is not less kind than earthly parents, who are not 
accustomed to be strictly just in their treatment of 
their children. Because earthly parents are imper- 
fectly just, they infer God is. But it has been already 
proved, and the Bible plainly teaches, that He is 
perfectly just. 

THE PLEA FOR JUSTICE IN PART AND MERCY IN PART. 

Not being satisfied that justice alone, or mercy 
alone will save them, some rely partly on both. Since 
justice and mercy seem to conflict, they must be 
harmonized by • as little punishment as possible, 
and afterwards a heavenly reward. This might 
seem consistent with human justice and mercy, 
but not with either the infinite justice or the in- 
finite mercy of God. It is plainly, also, a human 
theory rather than a truth of the Bible. 



THE ATONEMENT. 



An atonement is any satisfaction rendered for an 
injury. The atonement referred to in the Bible is 
the satisfaction made by the sufferings and death of 
Christ for the sins of men. We learn that it was the 
purpose of God, in connection with the permission 
of sin, to provide a Saviour for sinners. This was 
first intimated in the curse pronounced upon the ser- 
pent with reference to the seed of the woman. It 
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 
It was foreshadowed by the sacrifices offered soon 
after the fall, as when Abel offered a more excellent 
sacrifice than Cain ; also in the tabernacle and tem- 
ple, particularly when the high priests went into the 
holy places once every year, not without blood, which 
he offered for himself and for the errors of the people. 
" How much more," it is written, " shall the blood 
of Christ, who, through the eternal Spirit, offered 
himself without spot, purge your conscience from 
dead works to serve the living God ? " 

The "necessity of an atonement, or something to satisfy 
the claims of justice before sinners shall be forgiven, 
has been impressed on their minds in all ages. Hence 
originated costly sacrifices and self-inflicted tortures 
among the heathen, also penances and ascetic modes 
of life where a corrupt Christianity has prevailed. 
The impression has arisen from a sense of God's ab- 

86 



The Atonement. 87 

horrence of sin, as though His wratli needed to be 
appeased like the wrath of an injured or insulted 
man. The Scriptures, also, using language adapted 
to human ideas, represent God as angry with the 
wicked every day. Yet it should seem that there is 
in Him no such anger or wrath to be appeased as 
men feel ; but as they in anger are disposed to inflict 
suffering on others, so God shows His abhorrence of 
sin by punishing the guilty, and the necessity of the 
atonement arose from the necessity of His connect- 
ing suffering with sin to enforce His law, or to guard 
holy beings against sin, and, if possible, to bring sin- 
ners to repentance. 

It is a principle of justice, that when the proper de- 
sign of punishment has heen fulfilled, the punishment 
itself may he remitted. This has been illustrated, 
though imperfectly, by a remarkable instance in his- 
tory. An ancient king made a law against adultery, 
the penalty being the loss of both eyes. The king's 
son was the first offender. The kind father, yet just 
ruler, to save his son from the loss of both his eyes, 
put out one of his own eyes and only one of his son's 
eyes. He thus proved himself both just and merci- 
ful. So Christ suffered for sinners. His blood shed 
for the remission of sins, fulfils the design of punish- 
ment in respect to all who believe in Him as their 
Saviour. It shows God's abhorrence of sin, and thus 
inspires the fear of committing it no less than their 
just punishment would. At the same time it so ex- 
hibits the mercy of God that it constrains many 
to repent of sin and seek after huliness. 



88 The Atonement. 

That there is such efficacy in the atonement of 
Christ will appear if we consider Him as the Son of 
God and Himself God, which has been already proved. 
Apart from this His atonement would have been of 
no avail. " The blood of bulls and goats could not 
take away sin." K"o more could the blood of Christ 
if He had been only a man or a created being ever 
so superior to man. Unless He is God as well as 
man, His sufferings and death displayed neither the 
justice nor the mercy of God. Accordingly, those 
who deny the divinity of Christ usually deny Ilis 
atonement for sin and the necessity of it. It is, 
therefore, an essential truth of the Gospel that Christ 
is God as well as man. As such, His sufferings and 
death on the Cross, his blood shed on Calvary, pre- 
sents the most amazing spectacle that has ever been 
witnessed — God, in Christ, reconciling the world unto 
Himself, the Lamb of God slain for the sins of men. 
Such an atonement should seem sufficient, for it must 
be efficacious in proportion to the dignity and exalted 
rank of the sufferer. It is, therefore, infinite. 

What a severe trial was it for Abraham to sacrifice, 
as he was ready to do in. obedience to the command 
of God, his only son Isaac, whom he loved ! Think 
how he must have felt when he was plainly com- 
manded to do it, also while preparing for the sacri- 
fice, and during the sad three days' journey to the 
place where it was to be offered, and, finally, when he 
came to the place ^which God had told him of and 
built the ^Itar, and laid the wood in order, and bound 
Isaac and laid him on the altar upon the wood, and 



The Atonement. 89 

stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay 
his son. How hard to sacrifice his only son whom 
he loved ! — harder, because Isaac, as it seems, was 
so submissive to his father and the will of God that 
he consented to be thus sacrificed. God would not 
permit it. " The angel of the Lord cried unto him, 
saying, Lay not thine hand on the lad." Yet God 
spared not His own Son. On that same mount He 
delivered Him up to be slain as a sacrifice for the 
sins of men, and the Son of God voluntarily shed His 
blood for the redemption of sinners. Such a sacri- 
fice should seem to be as much greater than Abraham 
was about to offer, as God the Father and the Son is 
superior to men. Hence if it had been possible to save 
sinners without it, would not the Father have heard 
His Son when He prayed, " If it be possible, let this 
cup pass from me ? " — or would the Son have added 
to His prayer, Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou 
wilt ? It should be considered, also, that the death 
of Christ had been preceded by His humiliation in 
laying aside the glory which He had with the Father 
before the world was, and becoming a man of sorrows 
and acquainted with grief. 

" Mercy and truth are met together, righteousness 
and peace have kissed each other." Is it said that 
God is too merciful to punish sinners as they deserve, 
or that they do not deserve more severe punishment 
than all must suffer? We point to the Son of God, 
bleeding on the Cross, for proof that the penalty of 
sin is certain and inconceivably dreadful. Is it said 
that God is unmerciful ? Again we point to Christ 



90 The Atonement. 

on the Cross for proof that His mercy is infinite: 
" God so loved the world that he gave his only be- 
gotten Son, that whosoever belie veth in him might not 
perish, but have everlasting life." " Herein is love, 
not that we loved God, but He loved us, and sent His 
Son to be the propitiation for our sins." " God com- 
mendeth His love towards us in that while we were 
yet sinners Christ died for us." Such truths of the 
Gospel may seem to some as an idle tale or a pleas- 
ing fiction ; to the Jews they were a stumbling block, 
and to the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them which 
are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power 
of God and the wisdom of God. 

In respect to all true believers in Christ, His atone 
ment is even more efficacious than their own punishu 
ment would be. It inspires them with the fear of 
God's justice as well as with hope in His mercy, and 
thus guards them against sin, while it constrains them 
to live henceforth not unto themselves but unto Him 
who died for them, and rose again. Hence the pro- 
per design of their punishment being fulfilled, their 
faith may be and is properly accepted for it, so that 
they are forgiven and saved. " There is, therefore, 
now no condemnation to them that are in Christ 
Jesus." "Being justified by faith, we have peace 
with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Of course, 
unbelievers not being affected by Christ's atonement 
for sin cannot properly partake of its benefits, and 
their guilt is greatly aggravated by their rejection of 
Him as their Saviour. " He that believeth not the Son 
shall not see life,but the wrath of God abideth on him." 



Intercession of Christ. . 91 

The extent of the atonement has been much dis- 
puted, some considering it limited and others unlim- 
ited. There is less difference, probably, in the mean- 
ing than in the impression conveyed to different 
minds by these terms. Those who preach a limited 
atonement only mean that it is limited in its applica- 
tion, which they infer from the fact that all are not 
saved. Those who preach an unlimited atonement 
admit that many are not saved by it, but believe that 
all might be. The impression made on the minds of 
hearers depends much on their habits of thinking and 
their religious education ; but we think the Bible 
commonly conveys the impression that the atonement 
is unlimited, that it is sufficient and really designed 
for all, whether finally saved or lost. u Heis the 
propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but 
for the sins of the whole world" " Who gave Him- 
self a ransom for cdl." " We see Jesus w T ho was 
made a little lower than the angels crowmed with 
glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, 
should taste death for every man" 

cheist's intercession. 

The ancient high priest who typified- Christ, after 
offering a sacrifice consisting of the blood of bulls and 
goats to atone for his own sins and the sins of the peo- 
ple, entered into the holiest of all in the tabernacle or 
temple to make intercession : so Christ, it is written, 
" having appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice 
of Himself, has entered not into the holiest place 
made with hands, but into heaven itself, now to 



92 Intercession of Christ. 

appear in the presence of God for us." " Where- 
fore He is able to save them to the uttermost that 
come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to 
make intercession for them." " For such a high priest 
became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate 
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens." 
Such intercession seems to be regarded by many as 
of little consequence, yet without it the atonement 
would be of no avail, since none w^ould seek and 
secure the blessings it procured. 

The need of Christ's intercession appears partly 
from the holiness and justice of God, and partly from 
the sense of sinfulness and unworthiness which men 
feel when they are truly convicted of sin. A gov- 
ernor of a state cannot consistently receive a petition 
from any criminal for his release from imprisonment. 
A petition, to have any w r eight, must come from 
some one who is himself innocent and highly respect- 
able. Hence, whenever a criminal attempts to pro- 
cure pardon he does not send a petition from himself 
alone, but requests others to intercede for him. If, 
too, he might go directly to the governor for pardon 
he would naturally prefer that some one would act 
as his intercessor. Much more should it seem that 
God, as an infinitely holy and just Being, cannot 
consistently pardon sinners without a worthy inter- 
cessor. " If one man sin against another the judge 
shall judge him, but if a man sin against the Lord, 
who shall entreat for him ? " " He is not a man as I 
am that I should answer him, and we should come 
together into judgment. Neither is there any days- 



Intercession of Christ. 93 

man betwixt us that might lay his hands on us bfcth." 
When the law was given by Moses on Sinai, and 
there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, 
and the noise of a trumpet, the people stood afar off 
and said to Moses, speak thou with us, and w-e will 
hear, but let not God speak with ulfrlest we die ; so 
every sinner who realizes in any degree the holiness 
of God and his own sinfulness will naturally feel his 
need of an intercessor to plead with God in his be- 
half. The ancient people of God, also, were not 
permitted to approach Him without a high priest. 
At the same time his intercession was evidently of 
no avail except as typical of Christ's. As the blood 
of bulls and goats could not take away sin, so the 
intercession of the high priest could not of itself be 
of any avail. None who are properly impressed 
with the holiness of God and their own sinfulness.^ * 
would be encouraged to seek God's forgiveness with-*f 
out faith in Christ as their Intercessor. They could !!p 
not have boldness to enter into the holiest, if they 
had not a high priest over the house of God who- 
ever liveth to make intercession for them. But 
through Christ they may come boldly to the throne 
of grace that they may obtain mercy and find grace 
to help in time of need. We should not suppose, 
indeed, that his intercession is needed to change the 
feelings of God and dispose Him to be merciful. He 
is merciful without reference to either the atonement 
or the intercession of Christ, yet He cannot consis- 
tently accept of sinners till they believe and trust in 
Christ — not only as having atoned for their sins by 



94 Intercession of Christ. 

His sufferings and death, but also as risen from the 
dead and ascended into heaven, where He ever liveth 
to make intercession for them. 

One respect in which Christ intercedes for sinners 
is by prayer. He began on earth to intercede thus 
for His disciples. He prayed, " Holy Father, keep 
through thine own name those whom thou hast given 
me, that they may be one even as we are. I pray 
not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, 
but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil. 
Sanctify them through thy truth ; thy word is truth. 
Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given 
me be where I am that they may behold my glory." 
He said to Peter, " Satan hath desired to have thee, 
that he may sift thee as wheat, but I have prayed for 
thee, that thy faith fail not." The earth, however, 
was not the place where it was designed He should 
make intercession. Here He made an atonement 
and then entered into the holiest, heaven, where He 
ever liveth to make intercession ; and as He prayed 
for His disciples on earth, so it should seem He still 
prays for them, exalted at God's right hand. 

Another respect in which Christ intercedes for those 
who trust in Him is, doubtless, by pleading the effi- 
cacy of His atonement, presenting, as it were, His 
blood shed for the remission of.sins, also by pleading 
the promise of the Father, to save all who shall trust 
in Him as their Saviour. Even His presence in the 
midst of the throne as the Lamb that hath been slain 
for sinners is sufficient to inspire believers with the 
hope of pardon and eternal life. 



Intercession of Christ. 95 

How irnicli superior is such an Intercessor to any 
other. The Jewish high priest was only a man, and 
needed an intercessor for himself. How irrational, 
also, is the idea, that the Virgin Mary and departed 
saints, the priests of the Roman Catholic church, or 
the Pope, can intercede for sinners. There is a sense, 
indeed, in which it is proper, that we should ask 
Christians to pray for us, and God has promised to 
answer their prayers if offered in faith, yet it is only 
through Christ that they can prevail with God, and 
there is no reason to believe that any saints in heaven 
can hear us if we ask them to pray for us. " But if 
any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, 
Jesus Christ the righteous." u Christ is not entered 
into the holiest places made with hands which are 
the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to 
appear before God for us." " Who is he that con- 
clemneth ? It is Christ that died ; yea, rather that 
is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God ; 
who also maketh intercession for us." 

It appears from passages of Scripture already cited, 
that Christ properly intercedes only for those who 
either believe or shall believe in Him as their 
Saviour. He prayed for His disciples, those whom 
the Father had given Him : " I pray for them," he 
said ; " I pray not for the world, but for them which 
thou hast given me, for they are thine." The atone- 
ment was made for all, but as there can be no salva- 
tion so there is no intercession for the impenitent and 
unbelieving, except, so far, as there is reason to ex- 
pect that they will, sooner or later, repent and 



g6 Free Salvation. 

believe. The sacrifices offered in the temple and 
the intercession of the high priest in the holiest place, 
pre-supposed repentance on the part of the people, 
otherwise they were of no avail ; so Christ's atone- 
ment for sin can be of no avail to the impenitent, 
and He will not intercede for them except such as 
may be led by the Holy Spirit to trust in Him for 
salvation and eternal life. He is able to save them 
to the uttermost that come to God hy Ilim^ but since 
there are many who will never do this, there are 
many for whom He does not intercede. " Having, 
therefore, boldness to enter into the holiest by the 
blood of Jesus by a new and living way, and having 
a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near 
with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having 
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our 
bodies washed with pure water." " Seeing that we 
have a great High Priest that is passed into the 
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our 
profession. For we have not a high priest which 
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, 
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet 
without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly to the 
Throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find 
grace to help in time of need." 

SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST FREE TO ALL. 

When Christ, having made an atonement for sin, 
was about to ascend into heaven, He commanded His 
disciples, saying: "Go ye into all the world and 
preach the gospel to every creature. The Gospel is 



Free Salvation. 97 

good tidings of great joy. It offers salvation to 
all. Its message is, " Come unto me, all ye that are 
weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 4 ' 
" If any man thirst, let him come unto me and 
drink." " The spirit and the bride say, Gome. And 
let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that 
is atliirst come. And whosoever will, let him take 
the water of life freely." 

Doubts have been expressed whether the offer of 
salvation to all is sincere / as though God could be in- 
sincere ; as though He could mock sinners with a 
gracious invitation addressed to all, but really in- 
tended for a part. We should not dare to doubt His 
sincerity. Since Christ was willing to suffer and die 
on the Cross to save sinners, why should we doubt 
His willingness to save all ? — or His sincerity in 
offering salvation to all? The principal reasons 
assigned for such doubts are His foreknowledge that 
all would not accept the offer of salvation, and His 
eternal purpose to save only those who He foreknew 
would accept it; but if His foreknowledge or His 
eternal purpose really and necessarily iirevent any 
from excepting salvation, then He has intentionally 
deceived us, and we should doubt His word, and give 
up our confidence in the JBible. Until, however, we 
know more about His foreknowledge and eternal pur- 
poses than He has plainly revealed to us, we have 
no right to infer from them that He is insincere 
in offering salvation to all, and we should not dare 
to think it. It is a temptation of the devil. God 
often means more than our language, which He uses, 



98 Election. 

expresses, but never less. Salvation, through Christ, 
is free to all. 

ELECTION. 

[Remark. The Apostle Peter wrote respecting the 
Epistles of the Apostle Paul : " In which are some 
things hard to be understood, which they that are 
unlearned and unstable wrest as they do also the 
other scriptures to their own destruction." It is not 
implied that the things referred to are not true, but 
that they are. A truth hard to be understood may 
be plainly taught, and if so, ought to be believed 
though it may not be clearly understood. It is rea- 
sonable, however, to infer that such* truths are not 
essential to salvation, though they are, doubtless, 
important, otherwise they would not have been 
revealed. Those who study them most, understand 
them best, and believe them most implicitly, are apt 
to be pillars in the church, itself the pillar and 
ground of the truth. It is well, therefore to study 
them, and understand them as fully as possible ; but 
if we cannot understand them, if we cannot explain 
them satisfactorily to ourselves or others, let us be 
careful not to wrest them to our destruction. AVe 
should rather think that such truths do not particu- 
larly concern us, and give heed to what we can and 
do understand. It is remarkable, too, that those 
who do wrest such truths to their own destruction 
are persons who do not believe them, but stumble 
over false inferences from truths which they dispute J. 

Among the truths hard to be understood is Election. 



Election. 99 

To elect is to choose one and not another. Election 
is the choice of one and not another. The elect are 
the persons chosen. In the Scriptures the elect, in 
most instances, are persons chosen to salvation as in 
the following passages : u Shall not God avenge his 
own elect ? " " Who shall lay anything to the charge 
of God's elect ? " " Put on as the elect of God bowels 
of mercies." " Elect according to the foreknowledge 
of God." Their election is referred to in the follow- 
ing passages : " Even so at this present time also 
there is a remnant according to the election of grace." 
" What then ? Israel hath not obtained that which 
he seeketh after, but the election hath obtained it and 
the rest were blinded." " Knowing brethren beloted 
your election of God." " Wherefore give all diligence 
to make your calling and election sure." 

It can scarcely be denied that these passages of 
Scripture teach the election of some and not others 
to salvation. Many complain of this, but why should 
they complain? They have the offer of salvation, 
which they may accept if they choose. The election 
of others does not hinder them. In this respect it is 
not like the election of a president or governor, when 
if one is elected another cannot be. All may be 
saved. If any persons could certainly know that 
they are not elected, it would not prevent their salva- 
tion if they would accept it, nor make it impossible 
for them to accept it. Nothing hinders them except 
their own choice, and nothing prevents their choice 
of salvation except their own sinfulness. It depends 
properly not on their election or non-election whether 



100 Election. 

they will be saved or not, hut only on their own 
choice. The Bible does not say whosoever is elected, 
but whosoever will, let him take the water of life 
freely. Hence if a person is really willing to accept 
salvation he has accepted it, and made his election 
sure. If he is not willing to accept it, he certainly 
has no reason to complain, though there may be 
reason to fear he is not elected to be saved. 

But it may be objected that the election is past, 
and the case of each person is decided. We believe 
it so far as God is concerned, for His purposes are 
eternal, like Himself, the same yesterday, to-day, and 
for ever. He did not need to wait to know what He 
or tnen would do. Yet His purposes respecting each 
one are the same that they would have been if He 
had waited till now or the end of time. Nothing 
unforeseen will ever occur that would have changed 
them. Furthermore, it is as certainly His eternal 
purpose that each one should choose or refuse salva- 
tion without constraint, compulsion, or necessity, 
as that some should be saved, and others be left 
to perish. It may be difficult for us to understand 
how this can be, or why it should be, but it is not 
difficult to understand that it is taught in the Word 
of God, and, therefore, must be true. Each one may 
and will make his own election or non-election sure 
as he chooses. 

It should seem, indeed, that election has much to 
do in determining each person's choice of salvation 
or of final condemnation. The choice and welfare 
of persons for both time and eternity are intimately 



Election. ioi 

connected with the circumstances in which they live 
and the influences with which they are surrounded. 
It makes a vast difference whether they were born 
in a heathen or a Christian country, in a religious or 
irreligious community, in a pious family or in one 
addicted to profanity, and in which the god of this 
world is worshiped. Much, also, depends on the 
natural bias and disposition, the strength of the 
appetites and passions, the habit of self-restraint 
and self-control. He who foresees all the circum- 
stances and foreknows all the influences, also how 
they will naturally affect the mind and heart of any 
person, must also foreknow what His choice will be, 
not only in respect to salvation but every thing else 
subject to His choice. It should seem, too, that He 
who arranges all circumstances and controls all 
influences, does really, though not directly or ef- 
ficiently, control and determine each person's choice 
of good or evil. He is in no respects responsible for 
the choice itself. For that, only the person who 
exercises it is responsible. God may, for some wise 
and good purpose, permit bad influences to be ex- 
erted, but Pie never exerts them. On the contrary, 
He exerts, and causes to be exerted, a great variety 
of good and powerful influences which ought always 
to prevail and often do prevail. Thus He elects some 
to salvation and not others. He permits some to re- 
fuse it and perish in their sins. These He evidently 
has not elected, though, As I live, saith the Lord, 1 
have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Others 
He leads, by the influence of His spirit and grace, to 



102 Election. 

accept salvation. These He has elected. They are 
His chosen people. 

Still it is often objected that, if God elects some 
and not others, he is partial. But partiality so far as 
it is wrong, is favoring one more than another with- 
out sufficient reasons, and since God has sufficient 
reasons, doubtless, though unknown to us, for elect- 
ing some and not others, we have no right to accuse 
him of undue partiality. Besides there is no more 
partiality in election by grace, than salvation by 
grace, and it is admitted that he saves some and not 
others. It should seem, too, that he often does more 
to save the non-elect than the elect. He evidently 
did much more to save the Jews who rejected the 
Saviour, than he did for the Gentiles who gladly re 
ceived the word of God. And frequently persons in- 
structed under Christian influences are never saved, 
while many who have seldom heard the Gospel, have 
become interested in the great salvation. 

Again, it should be considered that election is no 
more applicable to salvation than it is to every con- 
dition of life. God elects some and not others to 
live a long life, to become rich, or to fill stations of 
honor and high trust. If a person, therefore, neglects 
salvation for the reason often assigned, " If I am 
elected I shall certainly be saved ; and if not elected 
whatever I might do would be of no use ; then let 
him be consistent, and neither eat, nor do anything 
because God foreknows and has pre-ordained what- 
soever will be, long life or an early death, riches or 
poverty, honor or disgrace, and his own efforts can 



Election. 103 

avail nothing. Till he is ready to apply the truth in 
this way to practical life, let him not wrest it to his 
own destruction. 

Whether, therefore, it is hard to understand it or 
not, it should seem to be true, "God has mercy <>n 
whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he 
hardeneth." The same truths are are a savor of life 
unto life to some, and a savor of death unto death to 
others. 



THE INFLUENCES OP THE HOLY SPIRIT. 



Though Christ made an atonement for all and sal- 
vation is freely offered to all, tins alone would not 
have secured the salvation of any one. There can be 
no salvation in sin, but only from it. " Without holi- 
ness no man shall see the Lord/' and since none na- 
turally possess it, they must obtain it before they can 
be fitted for heaven. 

This change from sinfulness to holiness is the ap- 
propriate work of the Holy Spirit. Men do not na- 
turally become holy, but increase in sinfulness. 
Their condition without the influences of the Holy 
Spirit, is fitly compared in a vision of the prophet 
Ezekiel, to a valley of dry bones, very many and 
very dry. Being asked, Can these bones live ? he 
replied, O Lord, thou knowest. Afterwai'ds, when 
he prophesied there was a noise and behold a shaking, 
and the bones came together bone to his bone, and 
lo! the sinews and the flesh covered them, but there 
was no breath in them. When, however, he said, 
" Come, O breath, breathe upon these slain that they 
may live, 5 ' the breath came into them, and they 
stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. 
This refers to the great and wonderful change that is 
often effected by the Holy Spirit accompanying the 
preaching of the Gospel. Sinners are awakened 
from death-like stupidity, and begin to aspire after 

1Q4 



Influences of the Holy Spirit. 105 

holiness. Some are quickened into spiritual life, and 
begin to breathe the spirit of holiness. Even before 
Christ all true piety was the fruit of the Spirit, and 
the wicked resisted his influences, as maybe inferred 
from the passages of Scripture in their connection, 
" My Spirit shall not always strive with man," and 
" Ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fath- 
ers did, so do ye." The gift of the Holy Spirit was 
included in the blessings of salvation bestowed on 
men through the promised Messiah. But since his 
coming there has been a special outpouring of the 
Spirit as predicted by the prophets, " And it shall 
come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour 
out of my Spirit upon all flesh." " It is expedient 
for you that I go away," said Christ to his disciples, 
" for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come 
unto you, but if I depart I will send him to you. 
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of 
sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. And he 
shall teach you all things, and bring all things to 
your remembrance whatsoever I have spoken unto 
you." On the day of Pentecost the disciples were 
filled with the Holy Ghost, and three thousand were 
converted. For a time miracles were wrought 
through the Holy Spirit, till abundant proofs of the 
truths preached had been given, and ever since his 
power has been exerted in the conversion of sinners, 
and the sanctification of Christians. " The love of 
God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost." 
u For as many as are led by the Spirit of God they 
are the sons of God." " The Spirit also helpeth our 



106 Influences of the Holy Spirit. 

infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for 
as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession 
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." 

Such influences of the Holy Spirit, there is reason 
to believe, are exerted more or less uniformly : 
but there are seasons when they are exerted in a 
special manner, as in revivals of religion, when the 
minds of men are deeply impressed with religious 
truths, and many are led to commence a life of true 
holiness. It might seem indeed that the truths of 
the Gospel are themselves fitted to produce such ef- 
fects, yet they are often preached a longtime without 
them, and are apt to be perverted and corrupted, ex- 
cept when they are accompanied with the special in- 
fluences of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit that 
quickeneth. " Not by might, nor by power, but by my 
Spirit, saith the Lord." "The wind bloweth where 
it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst 
not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth : so is 
every one that is born of the Spirit." The changes 
often effected in individuals and in communities, as 
clearly indicate the presence and power of the Holy 
Spirit, as the sound and effects of wind indicate its 
direction and force. "What rendered the preaching 
of the gospel by the apostles so much more powerful 
than the most faithful and eloquent preaching has 
often been? Who taught Luther the doctrines of 
the Reformation, and what made them powerful 
enough to shake the thrones of kings, and finally 
overthrow the Papal power? What is it that often 
arrests the attention of the careless and irreligious, 



Regeneration. 107 

the worldly and ambitious, and even infidels and 
scoffers, and so impresses them with the truths of the 
Gospel, that not only individuals but entire com- 
munities anxiously inquire the way of life, and ear- 
nestly seek salvation through Christ? " Quench not 
the Spirit." " Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God 
whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." 
The influences of the Holy Spirit are chiefly exert- 
ed in answer to prayer. " If ye being evil know 
how to give good gifts unto your children, how much 
more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy 
Spirit unto them that ask him." Though the Spirit 
himself begets and cherishes the spirit of prayer 
whenever it prevails, He exerts his influences more 
or less as they are sought by earnest prayer. "When 
prayer is neglected His influences are more or less 
withdrawn, but when the spirit of prayer prevails, 
this itself indicates the presence of the Holy Spirit, 
and there are, or soon will be other evidences of his 
power, which will be considered more particularly in 
connection with regeneration and sanctification. 

REGENERATION. 

The change from entire sinfulness to holiness is 
often called regeneration ; being born again* the new 
birth ; because Christ referred to it in his conversa- 
nion with Nicodemus : " Yerily, verily, I say unto 
thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God." " Except a man be born of wa- 
ter and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom 
of God." " Marvel not that I said unto thee. Ye 



1 08 Regeneration, 

must be born again. " The same change is referred 
to in the Old Testament as when God says, " A new 
heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put 
within you." The apostle Paul also refers to it in 
the following passages : " God according to his mer- 
cy saved us by the washing of regeneration, and re- 
newing of the Holy Ghost." "And you being dead 
in your sins, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, 
hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven 
you all trespasses/' 

The reality of regeneration cannot be doubted 
without doubting the word of God just cited. There 
are, also, a great many persons in every Christian 
community who have solemnly professed before God 
and in public its reality in themselves. Their testi- 
mony also accords with the testimony of Christians 
in all past time. Many of them may be insincere, 
and more self-deceived, but the testimony of so 
many intelligent and honest persons should not be 
doubted. Besides, though many belie their profes- 
sion by their unchristian lives, and all are more or 
less inconsistent, a great many exhibit a new spirit 
in their daily life, and it can be seen if any are dis- 
posed to see it, that there is a difference between 
those who serve God and those who serve him not. 

A remarkable instance of the reality of the change 
referred to is that of the apostle Paul. He had been 
a bitter opposer of Christ, engaged in persecuting 
Christians, but suddenly became a zealous Christian 
himself, and an earnest preacher of the Gospel he had 
despised. He renounced the highest honors, and 



Regeneration. 109 

suffered the loss of all things, that he might serve 
Christ. Could there have been such a change in 
his life without an essential change in his mind and 
heart? 

The Author of regeneration is God, the Holy Spirit. 
This is plainly taught in the expressions "born of 
the Spirit" the "renewing of the Holy Ghost." 
None are naturally inclined to effect such a change 
in themselves, but rather to resist the influences of the 
Spirit; and those who have experienced it are apt to 
be deeply impressed with the conviction that it was 
effected by a higher power than their own, or that of 
any one who may have been instrumental in effect- 
ing it. Some simple truth may have been the means 
employed, but that long known and often repeated 
was powerless till accompanied with the influences of 
the Spirit. " Which were born not of blood, nor of 
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of 
God." 

Yet man is active in his regeneration. He thinks, 
feels, and acts, as though the work was chiefly his own. 
No one should wait for the change to be effected in 
himself without changing immediately his own ha- 
bits of thought and feeling, and the controlling pur- 
pose of his life, as well as refraining from evil, and 
doing good. As the man with a withered hand was 
healed when he attempted to stretch it forth, so God 
works in men to will and to do of his own good 
pleasure, when they begin to work out their own* sal- 
vation with fear and trembling. Sometimes, it is true, 
"he seems to renew men without any previous or ac- 



HO Regeneration. 

eompanying efforts of their own, but usually by 
prompting and aiding earnest efforts, so that as soon 
as a person really decides to be a Christian, he is a 
Christian. 

Regeneration is naturally preceded by what is 
called conviction of sin accompanied with religious 
seriousness. This is often gradual, beginning in 
childhood and becoming more and more habitual 
till it matures into spiritual life. More commonly, 
perhaps, it occurs at intervals, after seasons of care- 
lessness and stupidity in sin, as in revivals of religion. 
Sometimes it flashes suddenly on the mind, and over- 
whelms the sinner with a consciousness of awful 
guilt, so that he tremblingly asks, What must I do 
to be saved ? Thus the Holy Spirit reproves men of 
sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Such con- 
viction is not necessarily distressing or protracted, 
provided it leads the soul to holiness and to God. 
This may be done in a few moments, as in a case just 
come to our notice. An irreligious man, addicted to 
horse-racing, was returning home from a race, and 
became so convicted of his guilt, that in a few mo- 
ments he fully resolved to become a Christian, as his 
subsequent life proved him to be. 

Regeneration itself is instantaneous. The prepa- 
ration for it may be more or less gradual, and it may 
be considerable time before the evidences of it are 
noticed or the consciousness of it felt. The particu- 
lar time may not be known, not even the day or the 
week. But there is some particular moment when the 
new birth begins, the new life commences, though the 



Regeneration. 1 1 1 



£> 



consciousness that " old things are passed away ; be- 
hold all things are become new," may not be felt till 
some time afterwards, and may never be very dis- 
tinct. 

The evidences of regeneration are the fruits of holi- 
ness in the heart and life ; the love of God, the love 
of Christ constraining us to live, henceforth, not 
unto ourselves, but unto him who died for us and 
rose again, and purer love to others than is natural, 
disposing us to bless them that curse us, to do good to 
them that hate us, and pray for them that despitefully 
use and persecute us. They include also repentance 
for sin as displeasing and dishonoring to God, faith 
in Christ as our only Saviour, a spirit of prayer, an 
interest in religious worship and the cause of Christ, 
fidelity and zeal in discharging known duties, accom- 
panied with earnest efforts to save others. 

The necessity of regeneration is, also, plainly taught 
in the passages of Scripture which have been cited 
and others. There are, also, various considerations 
fitted to impress it on our minds. 

One such consideration is that none are naturally 
fitted for heaven. The presence of God would not 
make men happy in their natural state. To think of 
him as he is revealed in the Bible rightly understood 
is disagreeable to them. Religion, which consists in 
loving and obeying him, is irksome. How then 
could they enjoy his presence? It would overwhelm 
them with a sense of their guilt and shame. They 
would gladly flee from him, and hide from his pres- 
ence. As, too, they are least happy now in the com- 



112 Regeneration. 

pany of the pious, and do not enjoy religions conver- 
sation, nor take satisfaction and delight in religions 
duties ; so the society and employments of holy an- 
gels, and the redeemed in heaven, would be not only 
disagreeable, but annoying to them. The best men 
would not naturally relish the pleasures at God's 
right hand ; they would so much prefer earthly plea- 
sures, the same that they now enjoy most. Until the 
soul is new-born, not one of the human family could 
sing the songs of heaven ; not one could sing, " Alle- 
lulia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth ;" not one 
could unite in saying, "Worthy is the Lamb that was 
slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and 
strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing;" not 
one could do the will of God as it is done in heaven. 
Among men what discord and strife, pride and envy, 
hatred and cruelty prevail ? and oh ! there would be 
such feelings and passions in heaven to destroy its 
peace and extinguish its joy, were it not for the 
unalterable decree of Him who hath the kevs of 
heaven and hell, "Except a man be born again he 
cannot see the kingdom of God." It is this righteous 
purpose of Him who liveth forever and ever, that 
makes heaven the seat of everlasting peace and 
blessedness. 

Nor do men naturally become fitted for heaven. 
Children do not naturally grow better as they grow 
older. Profligate youth do not naturally become 
virtuous and good men. The vicious and degraded 
do not naturally become virtuous and refined. Even 
the moral and virtuous do not naturally love God, or 



Regeneration. 113 

relish religious truths and duties more and more as 
they advance in life. Much is said about human 
progress, and in many respects it has been very great. 
In the arts and sciences, in civilization and refine- 
ment, and perhaps it should be added in morality and 
virtue, men are constantly improving, though even 
such progress is due chiefly to the influences of the 
Christian religion. But how much progress do men 
naturally make in true holiness, in fitness for heaven? 
None at all. They naturally increase in sinfulness 
instead of holiness. They are naturally better fitted 
for heaven when they are little children than at any 
other period of life, and the longer they live without 
being born again, or being renewed by the Holy 
Spirit, the less fitted for heaven they become. Of 
little children, not old men and women, Christ said. 
Of such is the kingdom of heaven. All are more or 
less conscious of this fact, or would be if they re- 
flected properly on the state of their minds and 
hearts, and what constitutes fitness for heaven. Yerv 
few need such a change less than Nicodemus, to 
whom Christ said, " Marvel not that I said unto thee, 
Ye must be born again." 

The means of regeneration are chiefly the truths of 
the Gospel. " The Word of God is the sword of the 
Spirit." "The Word of God is quick and powerful, 
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to 
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the 
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts 
and intents of the heart." The truth is the instru- 
ment which the Holy Spirit uses in convincing men 



114 Regeneration. 

of sin, renewing their hearts and leading them to ho- 
liness and to God. On this therefore we should chief- 
ly rely to effect such a change in ourselves, or in 
others. Other means of grace, such as reading the 
Bible and religious books, and attending public wor- 
ship, are useful only as* they are fitted to impress the 
truths of the Gospel on the mind. Nor are 
these rightly used if they do not properly affect and 
influence us. We only abuse the means of grace 
whenever we use them without being renewed in the 
spirit of our minds. As soon as we bring ourselves 
under the influence of the truth, by giving it due and 
earnest attention, praying for the enlightening and 
sanctifying influences of the Spirit, it will not be 
long before the new life will begin in our souls, as it 
is not long after the earth is warmed with the rays 
of the sun, and is abundantly watered with showers, 
before its winter's dreariness is gone, and it becomes 
clothed with life and beauty. Especially " Quench 
not the Spirit." "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of 
God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemp- 
tion." 

The first holy exercises of the regenerated are 
chiefly faith, repentance, love, and submission, all ex- 
ercised towards God. Which of these is first exer- 
cised it is difficult if not impossible to tell. One per- 
son would say that he first exercised faith, another 
repentance, another love, and another submission, ac- 
cordingly as he first became conscious of feeling one 
or another. It seems that, in reality, they must all 
be exercised together as a complex act of the mind^ 



Regeneration. 115 

There is no faith without repentance, no repentance 
without love, and no love without submission. Yet 
there seems to be a reason for considering faith as 
first in the order of nature, though not of time, since 
it seems to inspire the others while it is itself 
strengthened and increased by them. 



THE CHRISTIAN LITE. 



FAITH. 

Christian faith is believing in God, particularly 
as revealed in Christ. As children naturally have 
faith in their parents, so Christians, the children of 
God, have faith in Him, believing His Word, or the 
truths He has revealed in the Bible. In this respect 
it is essentially different from believing a particular 
creed expressing one's religious opinions, or believing 
what parents teach and ministers preach, which may 
be faith in a creed, or faith in parents and ministers, 
but not faith in God. Since, as has been proved, 
the Bible is the "Word of God, it must be our rale of 
faith. So far as any one disbelieves the truths of the 
Bible or perverts their meaning to make them accord 
with his own pre-conceived opinions, he errs from 
the faith. ]STo one's faith, indeed, can be expected 
to be perfect in this world, but the Bible is, for the 
most part, so plain, that our faith may be essentially 



right. 



Christian faith is something more than a common 
belief of the Bible. There are a great many whose 
religious creed is as perfect as any, who have not a 
particle of Christian faith. They are familiar with 
the Word of God, and believe all its essential truths 
as they are commonly believed, yet are really un- 
believers. " The natural man receiveth not the things 

116 



Christian Faith. 117 

of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto 
him, neither can he know them, because they are 
spiritually discerned." u In whom the god of this 
world hath blinded the minds of them which believe 
not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, 
who is the image of God, should shine unto them." 
This is apt to seem fanciful, but it is the language of 
the Scriptures, and certainly true. What men com- 
monly believe is no more like the reality than dark- 
ness is like light, or a dead body is like a living one. 

A blind person may learn much about light and 
colors ; that there is a difference between light and 
darkness; that the grass is green, the sky blue, some 
things are white and others black ; but he has, and 
can have no true conception of light and colors or 
any visible objects. A dead body may have the 
form of a living one, but it has no life. So men may 
naturally have the form of godliness without its 
power. They may believe, all the truths of the Gos- 
pel so far as language conveys an idea of them to 
their minds, but their impressions of what they 
believe are naturally as different from the truth 
itself as death from life. Their faith is dead. It 
has no vitality in it. It is the body without the 
spirit. 

But there are many in every Christian community 
who have learned by happy experience what faith is. 
" God who commanded the light to shine out of dark- 
ness hath shined in our hearts to give us the light 
of the knowledge of the glory of Goa in the face of 
Jesus Christ." It is this light of the knowledge of 



n8 Christian Faith. 

the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ which 
makes the faith of all true Christians essentially dif- 
ferent from that of others. What they believe, 
so far as language expresses it, is the same that 
others believe, but as it appears to their minds and 
effects their hearts, it is as different as light from 
darkness. They now realize that they were in the 
darkness of sin, but have become children of light ; 
that they were dead in trespasses and sins, but have 
been made alive unto God through Jesus Christ. 

Yet there is nothing mysterious in the faith of 
Christians. They believe the Gospel only as they 
believe other truths; yet it is no longer as an idle 
tale or a pleasing fiction, but a blessed and glorious 
reality. They had, perhaps, always believed the 
same truths as they supposed, but now they say they 
did not really believe them till it pleased God to 
make known to them, as the Apostle Paul says, what 
is the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is 
Christ in them the Hope of glory. Hence, though 
they were once careless and unconcerned in sin as 
others still are, they now say, u He brought me up out 
of an horrible pit and out of the miry clay, and set my 
feet on a rock, and established my goings, and He 
hath put a new song into my mouth, even praise 
unto our God." Once they did not believe, but now 
they believe that they were in the horrible pit and miry 
clay. Once they did not believe, but now they be- 
lieve they needed to have their feet set on a rock. 
Their new song is inspired by faith. 

It should be inferred, from the nature of the truths 



Christian Faith. 119 

taught in the Bible, that faith is something more than 
a common belief of them. Perhaps the distinction 
may be more clearly expressed by adding, that faith 
is regarding the truths believed as true, particularly 
as applicable to oneself, instead of disregarding 
them as commonly believed. If we should see a per- 
son sitting careless and unconcerned in a house on 
fire, after hearing the alarm often repeated, we 
should infer that he did not believe the alarm ; or, 
if being alarmed he should attempt to escape through 
a thick wall instead of an open door, we should infer 
that he did not believe the door to be open. How, 
then, can impenitent sinners really believe that God 
hates sin, and will by no means clear the guilty ; 
that He has appointed a day in which He will judge 
the world in righteousness, and then the wicked shall 
go away into everlasting punishment ; how can they 
believe such truths, yet be careless and unconcerned? 
How can they believe that Christ, the Son of God 
and Himself God, became a man of sorrows and 
acquainted with grief, was crucified for them, rose 
from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is now 
exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour to give re- 
pentance to Israel and remission of sins, yet feel 
no penitential sorrow for sin, nor the love of Christ 
constraining them, but continue to neglect so great 
salvation ? How can they believe that the Gospel 
has brought life and immortality to light, yet live as 
though they had nothing to fear, nothing to hope 
for beyond the grave ? It is impossible. It cannot 
he that they really believe the truths of the Gospel 



120 Christian Faith. 

while they so utterly disregard them. They cer- 
tainly have no faith in God. 

Faith is uniformly accompanied with appropriate 
effects. It works by love, purifies the heart, and 
overcomes the world, and there is peace and joy in 
believing. Whoever believes that God is love must 
love Him. Such faith will subdue his natural en- 
mity, and beget love as certainly as the summer's 
sun will melt the frost and ice of winter. Faith in 
Christ and His Cross, especially, must touch the 
heart, and make it overflow with penitential sorrow 
for sin, so that it will gradually become pure and 
holy. Faith, too, in the realities of eternity, heaven 
and hell, must be stronger than the love of the world. 
Being justified by faith is just what every one needs 
to give him peace with God ; and believing in Christ 
as his Saviour, accompanied as it will be with the 
hope of everlasting life, is just what every one needs 
to fill him with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 
Let none, therefore, think that they have faith unless 
they have felt, and continue to feel its life-giving 
power in their souls. 

There is, then, a vast difference between believers 
and unbelievers, so-called in the Bible. There may 
not be in the judgment of some men, but there is in 
the judgment of God who searches the heart. It is 
true, the difference is sometimes scarcely perceptible 
to us, and it is never so great as it ought to be. " O 
ye of little faith,*" Christ still has occasion to say to 
His most faithful disciples. Yet little as their faith 
may be, they live by it. " The life which I now live 



Christian Faith. 12 1 

in tlie flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God 
who loved me and gave Himself for me." "We walk 
by faith and not by sight. By faith Enoch, Abra- 
ham, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David, and many 
others, of whom the world was not worthv, were 
distinguished as chosen of God. These, indeed, 
are remarkable examples, but essentially the same 
faith must be exhibited in the life of every Chris- 
tian. Without it no one should think himself a 
Christian. 

The necessity of faith, particularly faith in Christ, 
is plainly taught in the Bible. Many think it makes 
no difference what religious belief they adopt pro- 
vided they are sincere ; but it is written : " Without 
faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh 
to God must believe that he is, and that he is the 
rewarder of them that diligently seek him." "He 
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; he 
that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the 
wrath of God abideth on him." " He that believeth 
shall be saved ; he that believeth not shall be 
damned." " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and 
thou shalt be saved." Faith, therefore, is indispen- 
sable to salvation. It is, also, necessary as the means 
of repentance and sanctincation. Without it none 
would ever become holy and fitted for heaven. 
None ever truly repent of sin, love God, and worship 
Him acceptably, till they have faith in God and 
Christ, 

How may faith be exercised ? might seem to be a 
question that needs no answer ; for every one believes 



122 Christian Faith. 

many truths without asking how. Yet the question 
often arises in the minds of persons who are urged 
to believe in Christ as their Saviour, for though they 
naturally believe other truths as soon as they are 
convinced of them, it is hard, and they seem not to 
know how to believe the truths of the Gospel. 

One important direction that may be given is, to 
regard faith itself as the gift of God, and to seek it 
by sincere and earnest prayer. "By grace are ye 
saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, 
it is the gift of God." Faith, indeed, is a voluntary 
exercise, and each one must exercise it himself, and 
ought to do so immediately ; yet no one ever believes 
till he is constrained to believe by the influences of 
the Holy Spirit enlightening his mind and guiding 
him in the way of truth. Hence, though we 
should never expect to have the gift of faith with- 
out attempting to exercise it, while we say, " Lord, 
I believe," it is proper that we should pray, " help 
thou mine unbelief;" and we may be assured that 
such a prayer, if sincere and earnest, will ere long 
be answered. " Ask, and ye shall receive." 

Next: Faith requires earnest attention to the 
truths particularly required to be believed. " How 
can ye believe which receive honor one from an- 
other, and seek not the honor that cometh from God 
only ? " u The love of money is the root of all 
evil, which while some covoted after, they have 
erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through 
with many sorrows." Anything, too, even many 
religious truths, that engages the attention more 



Christian Faith. 123 

than such truths as need to be believed, will pre- 
vent the exercise of Christian faith.. u Therefore 
we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things 
which we have heard, lest at any time we should 
let them slip." These truths, if we give them proper 
attention, will constrain our belief, so that we shall 
no sooner doubt their divine origin than that natural 
light comes from the sun, and shall rejoice to feel 
their saving influence. 

Faith, also, requires immediate obedience to the 
known will of God. " If any man will do his will," 
said Christ, " he shall know of the doctrine whether it 
be of God." Abraham's faith was accompanied with 
a readiness to obey the command of God, though it 
required him to sacrifice his son Isaac, whom he 
loved ; but an unwillingness to discharge some parti- 
cular duty requiring no sacrifice, and in itself very 
easy, deprives a great many of the peace and joy of 
believing. As soon as any are willing to discharge 
every known duty, they are apt to believe to the sav- 
ing of their souls. It is, doubtless, faith that first dis- 
poses them to obey, but it is also a willingness to 
obey that disposes them to believe. 

These few suggestions may not have answered 
very satisfactorily the question, How may faith be 
exercised? — yet let a person sincerely pray for the 
Spirit of God to give him faith, while he himself 
gives his earnest attention to such truths as he is re- 
quired to believe, and faithfully endeavors to do the 
will of God, so far as he knows it, then, though he 
may be left awhile in darkness, it will not be long 



124 Justification by Faith. 

before lie shall walk in newness of life and rejoice in 
the light of truth. 

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 

We have already partially considered the ques- 
tion, How should man be just with God ? and shown 
that self-justification is impossible; also that justice 
without mercy, or mercy without justice, is inconsis- 
tent with the hope of forgiveness. On the other 
hand, we have considered the atonement of Christ 
as designed and sufficient to save all men. Yet in 
answer to the question, " Are there few that be saved, 
Christ said : u Strive to enter in at the straight gate, 
for many will seek to enter in and shall not be able." 

Why, some will ask, since Christ died for all, will 
not all be saved ? Because not even the atonement 
of Christ can save men in their sins. It could not 
have been designed for such a purpose, and Christ 
preached, u Except ye repent ye shall all likewise 
perish." So long, therefore, as any continue impeni- 
tent, they can have no rational hope of salvation. 

Who, then, will be justified with God? He is 
the Righteous Judge of all, and any reason for the 
justification of sinners which satisfies Him ought 
to satisfy others, especially the guilty, whether it 
seems to them sufficient or not. Any condition of 
salvation which He proposes should be gladly 
accepted though ever so hard. How, then, can 
sinners be justified ? By faith, by believing in 
God, particularly God in Christ. This would be 
incredible without His own authority ; for it is 



Justification by Faith. 125 

the same as requiring nothing, and offering salva- 
tion without money and without price. But we 
have His authority: " To him that worketh not 
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, 
his faith shall be counted for righteousness." 
"Therefore, we conclude, that a man is justified 
by faith without the deeds of the law." " Abra- 
ham believed God, and it was counted to him for 
righteousness." "If thou shalt confess w T ith thy 
mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart 
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou 
shalt be saved." This should seem plain enough 
and easy enough ; for believing that God so loved 
us, believing that Christ died for us, is as simple 
and as easy in itself as believing that a kind father 
and mother once toiled and suffered for us. On the 
other hand, as it would be the basest ingratitude on 
the part of a child not to be affected by parental 
kindness, so unbelief is properly represented as the 
greatest sin, that for which sinners chiefly are con- 
demned. " He that believeth not is condemned 
already, because he hath not believed in the only 
begotten Son of God." 

Besides, it should seem reasonable and even ne- 
cessary that sinners should not be justified without 
faith. We have already considered the influence 
that faith exerts in purifying the heart and over- 
coming the world. Even the sufferings of an inno- 
cent lamb offered as a sacrifice for sin were fitted to 
affect the hearts of those for whom it was offered, 
how much more the sufferings and death of Christ ! 



126 Christian Faith. 

But unbelief makes even the blood of Christ un- 
availing, so that without faith there is no true 
repentance, no true holiness. It is, therefore, im- 
possible to be justified without faith, partly because 
it is impossible to be justified without holiness. 
Faith, too, is itself a holy exercise pleasing to God, 
as a child's faith is apt to be particularly pleasing to 
parents. It is also accompanied with other holy 
exercises and a holy life, so that as it increases holi- 
ness increases, and, finally, becomes perfect. Since, 
then, in one sense, as the Apostle James teaches, by 
works a man is justified and not by faith only ; he 
must also be justified by faith, without which no 
works are ever holy or acceptable to God. " With- 
out faith it is impossible to please Him." 

In other respects, also, justification without faith 
would be the same as justification without an atone- 
ment, for unbelief, so far as it prevails, renders the 
atonement unavailing. The blood of Christ was 
shed for us in vain unless we believe it was shed for 
us. Only those whose faith gives utterance to senti- 
ments like this : 

" Alas ! and did my Saviour bleed ? 
And did my Sovereign die? 
Would He devote that sacred head 
For such a worm as I ? " 

Are accustomed to respond : 

" But drops of grief can ne'er repay 
The debt of love I owe : 
Here, Lord, I give myself away — 
'Tis all that can I do." 



Trust in God. 127 

All that they can do is really nothing that merits 
the favor of God, yet it is a suitable reason why He 
should bestow the blessings of salvation on them in- 
stead of those who despise or neglect them. " The 
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit — a broken and 
contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise." Such 
a spirit or such a heart is not natural to any. It 
proceeds from faith, which, therefore, answers the 
question, How should man be just with God? 

TRUST IN GOD. 

Trust, or confidence in God, is closely allied to 
faith. Faith begets trust Unbelievers trust chiefly 
in themselves. In their worldly plans and pursuits 
God's direction is not sought, and instead of depend- 
ing on Him for success they rely on their own efforts. 
They know, indeed, that everything is uncertain, and 
they expect to risk much in every enterprise, but 
self-dependence is all their reliance. So in their 
spiritual concerns they trust in their own merits 
rather than in Christ. But Christians are wont to 
trust in a higher power than their own even in re- 
spect to their temporal interests, so that when they 
are successful they praise God for blessing their 
efforts, and when unsuccessful they believe it to be 
best they should be, while they are grateful for such- 
favors as they receive. Especially in respect to their 
salvation and future happiness, while they are more 
careful than others to please God, they trust only in 
the merits of Christ, saying, u I know whom 1 have 
believed; and am persuaded that He is able to keep 



128 Love to God. 

that which I have committed unto Him against 
that day." 

LOVE TO GOD. 

Christ said to the Jews : " I know you that ye 
have not the love of God in you," 5 though they 
thought they loved Him. So, as we have already 
proved, men do not naturally love God, though they 
think they do. They only love such a Being as they 
falsely imagine Him to be, not such as He is. True 
love to God is incited by the Holy Spirit. " The 
love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy 
Ghost." " The fruit of the Spirit is loveP " Every 
one that loveth is born of God." True Christians 
feel that they now love God as they did not naturally. 

Christian love to God is pure, though not perfect 
on earth. It is not prompted by supreme selfishness 
like that which they once called love, yet it is min-' 
gled with much selfishness, so that it is often difficult 
for themselves to know which holds the ascendency 
in their hearts. But it is only when they feel as- 
sured that their love is supreme, and that they are 
habitually prompted and controlled by it, that they 
should think they are Christians, the adopted children 
of God, and heirs of salvation. 

Love to God assumes different forms according to 
the different aspects in which He is contemplated. 
Sometimes it is benevolence or good- will towards 
Him, leading one to desire that He should be known 
and honored by all His creatures, as expressed in the 
petitions : a Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom 
come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in hea- 



Love to God, 129 

veil ; " also in the ascription : " Blessing, and glory, 
and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, 
and might, be unto our God for. ever and ever." 
Sometimes it is complacency, or supreme satisfaction 
and delight in God, as the portion of the soul prompt- 
ing such exclamations as — u O Lord our Lord, how 
excellent is thy name in all the earth, who hast set 
thy glory above the heavens ! " " Whom have I in 
heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that 
I desire besides thee." At other times it is gratitude 
in view of His great goodness and the manifold 
blessings of His providence and grace, expressed by 
thanksgiving as — " O give thanks unto the Lord, for 
he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever." " Bless 
the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." 
Apart from the feeling of love, of which a person 
may not always be conscious, because it is not 
strongly excited, there are abundant evidences of 
love to God whenever it is supreme. A Christian 
need not be troubled with doubts respecting his 
right to the privileges of God's adopted children, 
because he does not always feel the love of God, as 
he often does, as parents need not doubt the sincerity 
of their love to their children, though they sometimes 
seem to forget them. It should satisfy a person, if 
sometimes, instead of feeling love to God, he thinks 
of Him with satisfaction ; reads his Word with in- 
terest and a prayerful spirit, or finds it sweet to medi- 
tate on its truths ; delights in religious worship ; 
rejoices in the prosperity of Christian churches, 
apart from a particular denomination ; is interested 



130 Love to God. 

in the spread of the Gospel, or anxious for the con- 
version of sinners, and continues faithful in discharg- 
ing various Christian duties. Especially may he feel 
assured that he loves God if he loves others who are 
devoted to His worship and service. " By this," 
said Christ, " shall all men know that ye are my dis- 
ciples if ye have love one to another." The Apostle 
John also w r rote : "We know that we have passed 
from death unto life, because we love the brethren." 

Love to God is also accompanied with purer love 
to all men than is naturally felt. Men naturally love 
those who love them, their relatives and particular 
friends. To some extent, also, they are naturally 
prompted by kindness, generosity, public spirit, 
patriotism, and philanthropy — but not so much that 
they are not supremely selfish. Perhaps, too, it 
should be admitted, that many persons, nurtured 
under Christian influences, have imbibed a spirit 
of good- will and brotherly love, which is much above 
the common selfishness of men, though they are not 
Christians ; but if so, love to God cherishes a spirit 
much more like that of Christ, who suffered and 
died that He might save sinners, and prayed even 
for His enemies, " Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do." 

A Christian need not despair, indeed, though in 
these respects his love often seems languid, if he only 
holds fast to his profession and perseveres in strug- 
gling against temptation and sin. Let him not be 
discouraged, though he often fails and comes short 
of his duty, if he is really on the Lord's side, and 



Repentance. 131 

after every fall rises with renewed strength, and 
presses on till the conflict shall be over. Only let 
him be on his guard against the allurements of the 
world, the lusts of the flesh, and the great adversary 
of souls, and keep himself in the' love of God, he 
shall at last find himself among his redeemed people. 

REPENTANCE. 

Repentance towards God is sorrow for sin as dis- 
pleasing and dishonoring to Him, and forsaking it in 
the heart and life. Men naturally repent of some 
sins which destroy their own happiness or injure 
themselves. The intemperate sometimes reform and 
become sober, because they find that intemperance 
injures their health, and makes themselves and their 
families poor, degraded, and wretched. Thieves 
and murderers are apt to repent in some respects 
when they are detected and punished. Such re- 
pentance includes only the sorrow of the world that 
w T orketh death. " Godly sorrow," or sorrow for sin 
as committed against God, " worketh repentance to 
salvation, not to be repented of." 

The necessity of repentance is obvious for the 
same reasons that regeneration is necessary. Sin- 
ners need to be born again, because they need to 
repent. The impenitent could not be happy in 
heaven if they could be admitted there. They 
would not relish the society and employments of 
holy beings. They would not enjoy the presence 
of God, whom they neither love nor are willing to 
obey. Nor can they be forgiven and welcomed 



132 Repent a?ice, 

among holy beings. Christ preached, " JSepent ye 
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." "Except 
ye repent ye shall all likewise perish." "I am 
not come to call the righteous, but sinners to 
repentance." 

But some say, " I can't repent." Then they must 
certainly perish. Many, however, have repented, 
and what some have done others can do. All can 
repent in the sense that makes all under obli- 
gations to do so, and takes away all excuses 
for impenitence. There is, indeed, a sense in 
which none can repent without the Spirit of God 
to lead them to repentance. " Can the Ethiopian 
change his skin, or the leopard his spots? — then 
may ye who are accustomed to do evil learn to do 
well." Yet surely being accustomed to do evil is 
no excuse for continuing to do it. Nor are any 
required to repent without the influences of the 
Holy Spirit. It would, doubtless, be useless to 
attempt it. The more such dependence is felt the 
better. But since all are dependent on God to 
give them repentance they should repent immedi- 
ately. If they could expect to repent at any time 
it would be safer to defer it. But "now is the 
accepted time, now is the day of salvation." 
" Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighte- 
ous man his thoughts, and let him return unto 
the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to 
our God, for he will abundantly pardon." 

The means of repentance are the same as the 
means of regeneration, chiefly the truths of the 



Repent x ance. 133 

Gospel. These the Holy Spirit uses in regenera- 
tion, and men should use them in exercising re- 
pentance. No one can repent by a mere volition 
or effort of his will, as he can raise his hand. An 
outward reformation may be effected, but the heart 
cannot be purified in this way. To feel truly 
penitent a person must reflect seriously and prayer- 
fully on his sins as committed against God, and, at 
the same time, on the goodness of God as fitted to lead 
him to repentance, and especially on His mercy ex- 
hibited by the sufferings and death of Christ. Be- 
holding the Lamb of God bleeding on the Cross, 
believing on the Lord Jesus Christ will make any 
one penitent. Unbelief hardens the heart, faith 
softens it, and makes the eves overflow with tears. 

The language of the penitent is, "Have mercy 
upon me, O God, according to Thy loving kindness, 
according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies 
blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly 
from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin, 
for I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin 
is ever before me. Against Thee, Thee only, have 
I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight." 

True repentance includes or leads to conversion^ 
turning from sin to holiness, forsaking sin in the 
heart and life, and commencing a life of obedience 
and devotion to God. The change is not completed, 
but begins with repentance. In the heart, love to 
God reigns, instead of enmity or indifference and 
ingratitude towards Him, and the spirit of good- 
will and forgiveness, instead of anger, revenge, 



134 Humility. 

hatred, ill-will, and selfishness. Humility assumes 
the place of pride. The appetites and passions are 
restrained. Evil thoughts are no longer cherished, 
but whatsoever things are true, honest, just, pure, 
lovely, and of good report, these chiefly occupy 
the thoughts. The affections are set on things 
above and not on things on the earth. In the out- 
ward life, especially, since it is more easy to reform 
that than the inward life, true repentance leads to 
a thorough reformation so far as any is needed. 
It will put an end to profanity, lying, fraud, in- 
temperance, licentiousness, theft, murder, and all 
kindred vices and crimes, and lead to an upright, 
useful, and pious life. 

HUMILITY. 

Christian humility naturally accompanies repent- 
ance. There is much, indeed, that should make 
men humble apart from their sinfulness. They 
are lower than the angels, and even the angels are 
represented as veiling their faces before God, and 
as not clean in His sight. Much more should men 
sav, " What is man that Thou art mindful of him ? — 
and the son of man that Thou visitest him?" Es- 
pecially should every sinner feel, "Woe is me, for 
I am -undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, 
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean 
lips." But even those who have not kept ail the 
commandments from their youth up are naturally 
disposed to ask, " What lack I yet?" — and only the 
truly penitent pray like the publican, who standing 



Prayer. 135 

afar off would not lift up so mucli as his eyes to 
heaven, but smote on his breast, saying, " God be 
merciful to me a sinner." 

PBAYKB. 

One of the first indications that a person has 
become a Christian is a spirit of prayer. Others may 
pray more or less habitually, and at times sincerely 
and earnestly, but the spirit of prayer is wanting. 
The Apostle Paul commenced his Christian life with 
the prayer, Lord, w T hat wilt thou have me to do ? — 
and " Behold he prayeth," was the first proof given of 
his conversion. It appears, also, from his subsequent 
life, that earnest prayer, as well as supreme devotion 
to Christ, distinguished him as a Christian. The 
Bible, too, represents all truly pious persons or Chris- 
tians as cherishing a spirit of prayer. 

" Prayer is the Christian's vital breath, 
The Christian's native air ; 
His watch- word at the gate of death- 
He enters heaven by prayer." 

Prayer is a solemn address to God. According to 
the Assembly's Catechism it is an " offering up of 
our desires to God for things agreeable to His will, 
in the name of Christ, with confession of sins, and 
a thankful acknowledgment of His mercies." The 
most comprehensive and beautiful form of prayer 
is that which Christ taught His disciples : 

" Our Father which art in heaven. Hallowed 
be thy name, Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done 
in earth as it is done in heaven. Give us this day 



136 Prayer. 

our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we 
forgive our debtors. And lead us not into tempta- 
tion, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the 
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. 
Amen." 

Prayer is the duty of all men, for they should 
acknowledge their dependence on God for the vari- 
ous blessings they receive or need, and if they have 
right feelings and desires they will naturally express 
them to Him in some appropriate form of prayer. 
All are commanded and exhorted in the Scriptures 
to pray, and are so taught by the example of Christ 
and primitive Christians. It is generally admitted 
that Christians ought to pray, and if so, it must be 
the duty of all men, for they ought to be Christians. 
The prayers of the impenitent, indeed, cannot be 
acceptable to God, but their impenitence is no ex- 
cuse for neglecting prayer, since they ought to repent 
immediately and begin to pray for forgiveness and 
other blessings. The feeling which prompts the 
question, " What is the Almighty that we should 
serve him ? — or, What profit shall we have if we 
pray unto Him?" — should be regarded as most 
offensive to God. 

Yet prayer should be considered more as a priv- 
ilege than a duty. As a child would be sad and 
disconsolate if denied the privilege of asking his 
parents for various things, so Christians would be 
unhappy if they could not pray to their Heavenly 
Father. It is often a great relief to their minds 
to cast their cares on Him who careth for them, 



Prayer. 137 

and it greatly comforts them to tell Him their sor- 
rows, even apart from the expectation that He will 
mingle them with the consolation and joy of His 
favor and blessing. Especially is prayer a privilege 
to Christians since it secures the enlightening and 
sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, and thus 
lifts them above the world to hold sweet communion 
with God, to have fellowship with the Father and 
with His Son Jesus Christ. u It is good for me," the 
Psalmist says, " to draw near unto God." 

Prayer is useful and efficacious. The chief objec- 
tion urged against it is, that it must be fruitless since 
the purposes of God are eternal and fixed, so that 
whatever blessings He has determined to bestow on 
us we shall receive without praying for them, and 
we shall not receive others however much we may 
pray for them. But the same objection may, with 
equal propriety and force, be urged against all 
human efforts. They cannot change the purposes 
of God any more than prayer can. Therefore if we 
should not pray for the reason referred to we should 
not do anything. But God's purposes evidently in- 
clude the means of accomplishing them, and prayer 
is the means of securing various blessings which 
would not be received without it. God has purposed 
to answer prayer as certainly as He has purposed 
anything pertaining to men. 

Prayer is useful apart from its efficacy. If it did 
not prevail with God it would be a means of grace 
to men. Withdrawing the mind from worldly and 
sinful objects, and thinking of God as seeing and 



138 Prayer. 

hearing us, especially as of purer eyes than to behold 
evil, tends to elevate the mind and purify the heart 
and life. 

Prayer is also efficacious. God hears prayer since 
He is omniscient, and it is reasonable to believe that 
He will be disposed to bless those who pray aright 
rather than those who neglect prayer. He promises 
to answer prayer : u Ask and it shall be given to 
you." " If ye, being evil, know how to give good 
gifts unto your children, how much more shall your 
Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that 
ask Him." " Before they call I will answer; while 
they are yet speaking I will hear." There are, also, 
numerous instances related in the Bible in which 
prayer has been answered. Though, too, we cannot 
always infer that any particular blessings have been 
bestowed only in answer to prayer, those who are 
accustomed to pray much cannot doubt that their 
prayers are efficacious. " The effectual fervent 
prayer of the righteous avail eth much." 

The appropriate places for prayer are in secret, in 
the family, and in public. As individuals, all should 
chiefly observe secret prayer. " When thou prayest 
enter into thy closet, and when thou has shut thy 
door pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy 
Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee open- 
ly." Those who pray acceptably pray most in secret. 

" I love to steal awhile away 
From every cumbering care, 
And spend the hours of setting day 
In humble, grateful prayer." 



Prayer. 1 39 

Since, also, every person at the head of a family 
should resolve like Joshua — " As for me and my 
house we will serve the Lord," he should not fail to 
pray habitually with his family, for this is an import- 
ant part of family worship, and without it scarcely 
any form of godliness will ordinarily be observed. 
A prayerless family can scarcely claim to be reli- 
gious, and where there is no family altar even secret 
prayer will in most cases be neglected. That it is a 
great sin to neglect family prayer should be inferred 
from the imprecation of the prophet Jeremiah, " Pour 
out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, 
and upon the families that call not on thy name." 
Observation, also, shows that a faithful discharge of 
this duty is attended with God's richest blessings. 

As social beings, too, living in the same community, 
and members of churches or religious societies, it 
is not only appropriate, but our duty, to unite with 
others, on various occasions, in social and public pray- 
er. The disciples of Christ, after His resurrection and 
ascension, continued with one accord in prayer and 
supplication ; and there is special encouragement for 
social prayer in Christ's promise, " If two of you shall 
agree on earth as touching anything they shall ask, 
it shall be done for them of my Father which is in 
heaven." 

Of course, prayer to be acceptable to God must 
be sincere, and be accompanied with true repent- 
ance and faith in Christ. Earnest and importunate 
prayer will certainly be heard and answered. The 
prayer of faith often secures the particular blessing 



1 40 Submission, Obedience and Consecration. 

implored, or if that be denied a blessing in another 
form is given. " This is the confidence that we have 
in Him, that if we ask anything according to His 
will He heareth us, and if we know that He heareth 
us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the 
petitions desired of Him." 

SUBMISSION, OBKDIENCE, AND CONSECRATION. 

Submission to the will of God, obedience to His 
laws and precepts, and consecration to His services, 
are so similar, that they may be considered together. 
To some extent, or in some respects, all men exercise 
them either from necessity or fear, but only Christians 
do so cheerfully. Parents must submit to God when 
He takes away a dear child by death, but all are not 
ready to say, "It is the Lord, let Him do what 
seemeth to Him good." " The Lord gave, and the 
Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the 
Lord." "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in 
him." LIow few would be ready, like Abraham, to 
sacrifice an only son in obedience to the command 
of God ! The trial, indeed, might be too severe for 
most true Christians, and God will not try them more 
than they are able to bear, yet it is such a spirit of 
obedience that distinguishes them in part from 
others. 

Submission to God is often the first act of which a 
Christian, as such, is conscious, the first indication 
of the new life, and it generally has reference to some 
particular sin which must be abandoned, or some 
particular duty which must be discharged. The 



Submission, Obedience and Consecration. 141 

convicted sinner becomes willing to submit to God 
in all things except perhaps one, which, though often 
trifling in itself, costs a severe struggle, sometimes 
protracted many months, and even years. We once 
knew a man of great intelligence and deep religious 
convictions, a pattern of morality and virtue, active 
and self-denying even in sustaining the church and 
promoting religion, so much so, that he was regarded 
as a Christian more consistent than most, who had 
neglected family prayer. This was a cross he was 
unwilling to bear, though Christ had said, " Whoso- 
ever doth not bear his cross cannot be my disciple." 
After several years he was persuaded to discharge 
this duty. Then he immediately experienced an 
essential change in his mind, and ever afterwards 
enjoyed religion as he had never done before. In 
submitting to God by discharging a known duty, he 
evidently passed from death unto life. 

Consecration to God seems to include more than 
submission and obedience. It seems to be a nobler 
act, and to introduce one to a higher service. In 
submission and obedience to God, Christians cheer- 
fully endure the trials that come upon them, and faith- 
fully discharge prescribed or known duties ; but in 
consecration they purpose to do w T hat they can to 
honor God rather than only what is particularly 
required, and what they regard as a privilege rather 
than a duty. Thus it is not specified how much each 
one ought to give to promote the cause of Christ ; but 
one who has consecrated all his property to the Lord 
is apt to feel that it is his privilege to give much 



1 42 Sanctification. 

more than if he should only inquire, how much it is 
his duty to give. So the command, " Go ye into all 
the world and preach the gospel to every creature," 
is not addressed to any particular persons, but those 
who have most fully consecrated themselves to Christ, 
most cheerfully go wherever they can best honor him, 
and do whatever will best please Him. 

" Now I resolve with all my heart, 

With all my powers to serve the Lord ; 
^Tor from His ways will I depart, 
"Whose service is a rich reward." 

SANCTIFICATION. 

Sanctification completes the work which regenera- 
tion commences. As regeneration is a change from 
sinfulness to holiness, so sanctification is a change 
from one degree of holiness to another, till perfect 
holiness is attained in heaven. Christians are holy in 
some degree as others are not, but not being perfectly 
holy they need sanctification. This, however, natur- 
ally follows regeneration. The same causes that 
first inspired Christians with the spirit of holiness will 
naturallv mature it. The seed may have fallen in 
an uncongenial soil, but if the soil has been culti- 
vated and improved enough to quicken it into life, 
and it has already taken root, it may reasonably be 
expected to grow and come to maturity. So Chris- 
tians as such naturally increase in holiness though 
they are also naturally sinful. Since the Holy Spirit 
has renewed them He will naturally sanctify them, 
and though there is danger of their grieving Him 



Sanctification. 143 

away, they will be less apt to do so now than before 
they began to seek and pray for His presence and 
gracious influences, The temptations which beset 
them, though still powerful, are weaker than they 
were, and the influences which lead them to holiness 
are stronger. Having felt the evil of sin they will 
shun it, and haying experienced delight in holi- 
ness they will seek after it. Hence they will gener- 
ally be found struggling against sin, and increasing 
in holiness. 

There is no such thing as standing still in the 
Christian life. There jmist be growth or there 
will be decay. There must be progress or there 
will be backsliding. The progress may be slow, and 
sometimes there is backsliding ; but Christians 
as such are being sanctified, otherwise they can have 
no satisfactory evidence that they are Christians. 
There is the same necessity for sanctification that 
there is for regeneration. It is no more true that ? 
"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God,*' than that, " Without holiness no 
man shall see the Lord." Hence Christians cannot 
properly feel that their work is done, but only begun. 
If at any time it should cease, they should abandon 
their hope of salvation. Sanctification, growth in 
grace, increase in holiness, is therefore an essential 
part of Christian experience. Christians are gradu- 
ally being purified from sin, and becoming pure in 
heart. The longer they live, the more unshaken is 
their confidence in God, and their love to him is 
purer and stronger. Christ, too, becomes more pre- 



144 Sanctification. 

cious, and their devotion to his service more sincere 
and constant. Their sorrow for sin is deeper, and 
they are more careful to do what is right. Their af- 
fections are set more on things above, and they are 
less absorbed in worldly pursuits and pleasures. 
Their appetites are better controlled, and their pas- 
sions are less easily and less frequently excited. They 
are more liberal and self-denvino*, more humble, 
meek, forbearing, and forgiving. " The path of the 
just is as the shining light, that shineth more and 
more unto the perfect day." 

This may seem, at first, to be contrary to the ex- 
perience of many who have the best evidences of 
piety. They are apt to look back to the time of their 
conversion, or to some later seasons, when, as they 
think, they were better than they are now. But there 
is more or less excitement accompanying the change 
which is experienced in becoming a Christian, which 
should be distinguished from the change itself. There 
is a kind of zeal and earnestness in religion at such 
times which is not really a part of it. Hence some 
may think that they have made little or no progress, 
though they excel most in their devotion to God. 
The more holy they become, the greater their re- 
maining sinfulness seems to be. The best saints are 
apt to regard themselves as the chief of sinners. 
The first love of Christians may have been more ar- 
dent than it has been since, but in most cases it was 
less pure. Then their religion consisted more in 
feeling ; now it consists more in true and fixed 
principles of thought and action. Having lost the 



Sanctification. 145 

glow of excitement, which accompanied their first 
love, or which they may have since experienced 
in revivals of religion, they may seem to have 
lost much of their devotion to God, though they 
are more sincere and faithful in his worship and 
service. 

The Bible represents sanctification as an essential 
part of Christian experience. It represents God as 
sanctifying Christians by his Spirit through the truth, 
and exhorts them to sanctify themselves by faith and 
repentance. " "We all, with open face, beholding as 
in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed 
into the same image from glory to glory even as by 
the Spirit of the Lord." " Having, therefore, these 
promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from 
all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting 
holiness in the fear of God." "For this is the will 
of God even your sanctification." " Grow in grace, 
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ." " Be ye perfect, even as your Father which 
is in Heaven is perfect." 

The means of sanctification are much the same as 
the means of regeneration ; for it is essentially the 
same work continued. The truths of the Gospel 
rightly understood and fully believed, are chiefly in- 
strumental in completing as well as beginning the 
change of character experienced by Christians. In 
proportion as they are prayerfully studied and con- 
sidered, they will purify the heart and life. " Sanc- 
tify them through the truth, thy Word is truth," was 
Christ's prayer for his disciples. But whatever tends 



146 Sanctification. 

to impress the truth on the mind is also a means of 
san ctiti cation. 

Ilenee prayer and other forms of religious wor- 
ship, reading the Scriptures, meditation, and the 
Lord's Supper, are important means of grace. 
Those who are most sincere and constant in at- 
tending these are apt to grow in grace, while those 
who neglect them, or observe them only in form, are 
either in a state of great spiritual declension, or still 
impenitent and hardened in sin. 

The various trials and afflictions of life are evi- 
dently designed and wisely ordered by God as the 
means of sanctification to his chosen people, though 
upon others they may often exert a contrary influ- 
ence. The loss of property is apt to make Christians 
richer in faith. The loss of earthly friends makes 
Christ more precious to them. Sickness reminds 
them of their dependence on God for numerous bless- 
ings of which they are prone to be unmindful in 
health, and for which they have not been sufficiently 
grateful, and at the same time strengthens their de- 
sires after holiness and the favor of God. " Whom 
the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every 
son whom he receiveth." " For our light affliction 
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more 
exceeding and eternal weight of glory." " It is good 
for me that I have been afflicted." " Before I was 
afflicted I went astray, but now have I kept thy 
word." 

Is perfect holiness attainable on earth % It is ; and 
it is not. It is attainable in the sense that it is reason- 



Sanctijication. 147 

ably required and there is no excuse for the least sin. 
But it is not attainable in the sense that any can rea- 
sonably expect to become^ perfect while they live. 
None have ever been perfect except Christ. Though 
the Bible calls such men as Noah and Job perfect, it 
does not represent them as free from sin. Even the 
apostle Paul, who was a remarkable example of 
Christian devotion, had occasion to w T rite, "Not as 
though I had already attained, either were already 
perfect. Brethren, I count not myself to have appre- 
hended." "Whenever any shall become as perfect as 
he was, they may expect to attain to still higher per- 
fection ; but till then the doctrine of Christian per- 
fection can scarcely be practical to them. Some, in- 
deed, claim to be perfect, and say they have com- 
mitted no sin for several months or a long time. But 
such persons do not appear to be more perfect than 
many who regard themselves as very sinful. They 
must have lowered the standard of perfection to suit 
their false pretensions, and what they call holiness is 
very far from such as will be attained in heaven. " If 
we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the 
truth is not in us." " There is not a just man upon 
the earth that doeth good and sinneth not." 

Though w T e do not know why sanctification pro- 
gresses so slowly, and is not sooner completed, it is 
probably for much the same reasons that the Israel- 
ites wandered forty years in the wilderness instead 
of soon entering the promised land. They were 
much better prepared to enter Canaan after their ex- 
perience in the wilderness than they would have been 



1 48 Christian Perseverance. 

before. So though God might doubtless sanctify all 
Christians in a short time, as he does some who die 
soon after their conversion, if he should do so in all 
cases they would not be impressed, as they will be 
when they reach heaven, with the greatness of their 
salvation and the exceeding riches of God's grace to- 
wards them. So far, too, as their sanctification de- 
pends on their own efforts, it should seem that after a 
long struggle against temptation and sin they will 
attain to a higher degree of holiness, and be fitted 
for a higher sphere of existence than they would be 
if they should be suddenly changed from their na- 
tural sinfulness to perfect holiness. The longer and 
the more severe the conflict with sin shall be, the 
greater will be the triumph when the victory shall 
be achieved. 

CHRISTIAN PERSEVERANCE. 

All true Christians will continue such. A person 
cannot be a Christian one dav and not a Christian 
the next ; or, admitting the possibility of falling 
from grace, as it was possible for perfectly holy 
beings to become sinful, there is reason to believe in 
the perseverance of all true Christians. They will 
often need repentance and renewed consecration to 
God, but having already passed from death unto life, 
they will never need to experience again precisely 
the same change, but will finally attain to perfect ho- 
liness in heaven. If it depended chiefly on them- 
selves, there would be indeed great uncertainty re- 
specting the result, or rather it would be certain that 
they would all fail of salvation ; but so far as they 



Christian Perseverance, 149 

have evidence that God has begun a good work in 
them, they may be confident, as the apostle Paul was, 
that he will perform it unto the (lay of Jesus Christ. 
It is true he will not work in them to will and to do 
of His own good pleasure, unless they work out their 
own salvation with fear and trembling, yet since His 
Spirit has led them to become Christians, there is 
reason to believe that he will certainlv lead them to 
persevere to the end. So far, too, as it depends on 
themselves, they will be much more apt to continue 
in the Christian life than they were to commence it. 
Temptations may sometimes overcome them, and 
their own evil propensities may make their progress 
in holiness very slow, yet they will never entirely 
forsake the way of life, or cease altogether to hunger 
and thirst after righteousness. Many professing 
Christians, and some who have long been regarded 
as truly devoted to Christ, may become apostates and 
perish, but "the path of the just is as the shining 
light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect 
day." 

The perseverance of Christians is clearly taught in 
the Bible. Christ taught his disciples, " Verily, 
verily, I say unto }^ou, he that heareth my word and 
believcth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, 
and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed 
from death unto life." "My sheep hear my voice, 
and I know them, and they follow me, and I give 
unto them eternal life, neither shall any jiluck them 
out of my hands" " He that believeth on me hath 
everlasting life" " He that received seed into the 



150 Christian Perseverance. 

good ground, is he that heareth the word and under- 
standeth it ; which also beareth fruit and bringeth 
forth, some an hundred fold, some sixty, and some 
thirty." True Christians are here referred to in dis- 
tinction from others who for a time appear to enjoy 
religion very much, having received the Word witli 
joy, yet have no root, which for a while believe, but 
in time of temptation fall away. The apostle Paul 
speaking of Christians as called of God, wrote : 
u Whom* he called, them he also justified ; and whom 
he justified, them he also glorified ;" again, "I am 
persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of 
God which is in Christ Jesus" And the apostle 
Peter represents Christians as " kept by the power of 
God through faith unto salvation." 

Some passages of Scripture are considered by many 
as teaching that Christians do not all continue such, 
but that some fall from grace, as : " It is impossible 
for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted 
of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the 
Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good Word of God, 
and the powers of the world to come, if they shall 
fall away, to renew them again unto repentance." But 
in the first place, it is not certain that the persons 
here described are true Christians, and they may be 
such as have been clearly enlightened by the Holy 
Spirit, and powerfully impressed with religious truths 
without becoming true Christians, so that they are 



Christian Perseverance. 151 

in a hopeless state. The connection seems to show 
that they are not Christians, for they are compared 
to the earth that bringeth forth thorns and briars, 
and is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing, whose end 
is to be burned. Besides, admitting that Christians 
are referred to, it is not said or implied, that any of 
them ever will fall away, but only that if they should 
fall away it would be impossible to renew them 
again unto repentance. It is added, too, " Bat, beloved, 
we are persuaded better things of you, and things 
which accompany salvation though we thus speak." 
Such passages of Scripture imply, indeed, that Chris- 
tians need to guard against being led astray, like the 
apostle Paul, who said, " I keep under my body, and 
bring it into subjection, lest that by any means 
when I have preached to others I myself should be 
a castaway ; " yet they are not inconsistent with the 
full assurance of final salvation. 

It is thought by many that there are examples 
mentioned in the Bible of persons who fell from 
grace, like Peter and Judas, and others constantly oc- 
curring. But the case of Peter only illustrates how 
true Christians, under sudden or great temptation, 
may sometimes commit heinous sins, yet soon repent 
of them, weeping bitterly, and afterwards be more 
faithful than before ; while that of Judas shows that 
persons may profess to be Christians, and be regarded 
as such a long time, yet be hypocrites or self-de- 
ceived. 

There are plainly tares among the wheat, yet, though 
it is impossible for us to distinguish them, the wheat 



152 Christian Perseverance. 

never becomes tares. Of some it is written, " They 
went out from us, but they were not of us / for if 
they had been of us, they would no doubt have con- 
tinued with us \ but they went out that they might 
be made manifest that they were not all of us" 
Christ also said, u Many will say unto me in that day, 
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and 
in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name done 
many wonderful works; and then will* I profess unto 
them I never knew yon." 

Though it has been objected to the truth under 
consideration that it is fitted to encourage those who 
think they are Christians to indulge in sin, as though 
their salvation might be secured without increasing 
in holiness, it only encourages them with the assur- 
ance of final success while they are shunning sin and 
making attainments in holiness. No one can have 
evidence that he is a Christian unless he continues 
faithful unto death, yet all need to be assured that 
even the first exercise of faith in Christ will secure 
their salvation, otherwise they will have much less 
to encourage them to become Christians, or to con- 
tinue faithful as such. If they may be Christians 
for a long time, yet finally be overcome by sudden 
and strong temptation, and perish like those who al- 
ways neglect the great salvation ; if there is so much 
uncertainty about the final result of their efforts, how- 
ever earnest and protracted they may be, it should 
not seem strange that so few become Christians, or 
that Christians become remiss in their efforts, and 
negligent of dutv. We are so constituted that the 



'Christian Privileges. 153 

greater our assurance of final success is, the more we 
are encouraged to persevere in efforts to secure any 
desirable object ; so the greater the assurance of 
Christians is that they will finally attain to' perfect 
holiness in heaven, the more earnest and faithful they 
are in its pursuit. Hence Christian perseverance is 
a decisive test of Christian character. If we are true 
Christians we shall continually grow in grace, in- 
crease in holiness : forgetting the things that are be- 
hind, and reaching forth to those which are before, we 
shall press towards the mark, for the prize of the 
high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Though we 
may sometimes stumble and fall, or be ready to 
faint and relax our efforts, it is only so far as we are 
faithful unto death that we should hope to receive a 
crown of life. " He that endureth to the end, the 
same shall be saved." 

CHRISTIAN PRIVILEGES. 

Some enjoy greater privileges than others. In 
many respects the rich and powerful have greater 
privileges than the poor and weak. The privileges 
enjoyed under a free and good government are very 
desirable. It is a privilege to belong to a highly re- 
spectable family, to be thoroughly educated, and to 
be admitted into the best society. But Christians as 
such are highly privileged above all others. 

One peculiar privilege of Christians is forgiveness 
or pardon. They are released from the dreadful con- 
demnation of sin, and at peace with God. " There 
is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which 



154 Christian Privileges. 

are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but 
after the Spirit. 5 ' " Being justified by faith, we have 
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

A sense of unforgiven sin is one of the principal 
sources of disquietude, and often of great misery 
among men. It may not be much noticed, yet it is 
deep enough to embitter the life of most persons. Its 
subject may not be willing to confess it to others ; he 
may not even acknowlege it to himself, but he feels 
it, and it makes him unhappy. There is, perhaps, no 
particular alarm, no great agitation, no deep and 
agonizing remorse, but a gloominess of feeling at 
times, and a sense of God's displeasure, accompanied 
with the fear of the judgment to come, that disturbs 
one's peace and mars his enjoyment. Sometimes it 
becomes overwhelming, crushing to the spirit, so that 
anguish and despair dispel every other feeling. What- 
ever religious opinions men entertain ; however ab- 
surdly they may reason, and whether they pervert the 
Scriptures or not; though they are Infidels, Deists, 
or Atheists, they cannot get rid of the conviction of 
sin, or the dread of its consequences. They may 
frame a multitude of excuses for their sins ; they 
may flatter themselves that all will be will with 
them hereafter ; they may persuade themselves 
to believe that there is no future state, or at 
least no future punishment, yet they cannot feel at 
ease. 

What a privilege then is forgiveness? What a 
burden is rolled off of the mind of every one who has 
satisfactory evidence that he is a Christian, a par- 



Christian Privileges. 155 

doned sinner ! How differently he feels ! What 
peace of mind he experiences ! unlike anything he 
ever experienced before. " Forgiveness/' it has been 
truly said, " is the charm that soothes to quietness 
the disquieted spirit; it is like oil poured on the 
troubled waters, producing an undisturbed calm." 
What different persons would many be, if a sense of 
God's forgiveness, full and free, should take the 
place of that sense of unforgiven sin which now op- 
presses them and darkens their prospects. God would 
appear different ; the world, life, death, everything, 
would wear a totally different aspect. 

Another Christian privilege is adoption. "When 
the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His 
Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to re- 
deem them that were under the law, that we might 
receive the adoption of sons" u And because ye are 
sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into, 
your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." " Blessed be 
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heaven- 
ly places in Christ; according as He hath chosen us 
in Him, before the foundation of the w^orld, that we 
should be holy and without blame before Him in love ; 
having predestinated us unto the adoption of chil- 
dren, by Jesus Christ, to Himself, according to the 
good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory 
of His grace." " Behold what manner of love the 
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be 
called the sons of God" " Beloved, now are we the 
sons of God" w Wherefore thou art.no more a ser- 



156 Christian Privileges, 

vant but a son ; and if a son, then an heir of God 
through Christ." 

As the adopted children of God, Christians enjoy 
co?nmunio?i with him. "Truly our fellowship is with 
the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ." " If a man 
love me," said Christ, " he will keep my words; and my 
Father will love him, and we will come unto him and 
make our abode with him." It is, indeed, mysterious 
how Christians have fellowship with God, and how 
the Father and the Son make their abode with them ; 
but the truth is plainly taught in the passages just 
cited, and it is not unreasonable that He who made 
them, should in some way manifest Himself to them, 
so that, though they neither see nor hear Him, they 
often feel that He is with them, and enjoy His pres- 
ence. Thus Jacob had occasion to say, " Surely the 
Lord is in this place and I knew it not. How dread- 
ful is this place ! this is none other than the house of 
God, and the gate of heaven." So, also, Christians 
are accustomed to commune with God. " It is good 
for me to draw near to God." " Draw nigh to 
God and he will draw nigh to thee." When, at times, 
a Christian is deprived of this privilege, he is wont 
to say, " Oh God, thou art my God ; early will I seek 
thee ; my soul thirsteth for thee ; my flesh longeth 
for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is ; 
to see thy power and thy glory, as I have seen thee 
in the sanctuary." 

Christians, also, enjoy communion one with an- 
other. Of course this must be confined, more or less, 
to a few with whom they meet and are most intimate, 



Christian Privileges. 157 

and it is affected, to some extent, by their other rela- 
tions in life ; but Christians enjoy particularly the 
society of other Christians who sympathize with them 
in their devotion tb Christ, and in their efforts to 
honor him. They generally prefer Christian conver- 
sation or intercourse to that of the world, and regard 
it as a higher privilege to be associated with the peo- 
ple of God than with princes. They are seldom 
willing to live where they cannot have this privilege, 
unless it seems to be their duty for the sake of doing 
greater good to others. 

Christains, too, are the heirs of God and of heaven. 
" Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, which, according to His abundant mercy, 
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the re- 
surrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an 
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that 
fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who 
are kept by the power of God through faith unto 
salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time." If 
it is desirable to be an heir to a rich inheritance, or 
to a throne on earth, how great is the privilege of 
being heirs of salvation, heirs of God and joint heirs 
with Christ. Unbelievers prefer an earthly inherit- 
ance, but believers the heavenly. 



CHBISTIAN INSTITUTIONS. 



THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 

The word church means an assembly. As used in 
the New Testament it means an assembly of Chris- 
tians. The true church of which Christ is the Head 
(Col. 1:18), sometimes called the catholic or universal 
church, includes all true Christians of every nation, 
sect, and age. But churches are composed of any 
number of professing Christians who are accustomed 
to meet in the name of Christ for religious worship. 
Originally some of them met in private houses, as the 
church in the house of Nymphas, and the church in 
the house of Priscilla and Aquila. It does not ap- 
pear that they were regularly organized at first, or 
had officers, but only met for religious worship. 
Very soon, however, bishops (overseers) were ap- 
pointed over each church. These were also called 
presbyters or elders, being naturally selected from 
the older members. Ere long some of them became 
teachers or pastors. Thus churches were regularly 
organized, with officers, by the apostles in various 
places. Such organizations are plainly authorized 
and approved of in the New Testament, and so far 
have Divine authority, but not in such a sense that 
churches could not exist without them, or that there 
may not properly be other forms of organization, and 
other officers. It is not probable, indeed, that any 

158 



Baptism. . 159 

churches at the present day are precisely like those 
instituted by the Apostles, or that Christ designed to 
establish a uniform mode of church administration. 
One may be better than another, or more nearly like 
the Apostolic churches, but who certainly knows 
which is? All that is essential is, that Christians 
should unite in the name of Christ and observe the 
ordinances, Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and religious 
worship. Christ's promise is, " Where two or three 
are gathered together in my name, there am I in the 
midst of them." 

BAPTISM. 

Baptism is the authorized form' of admission into 
the Christian church. Christ commanded his disci- 
ples, " Go ye, and teach all nations, haptizing them 
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 
the Holy Ghost." The rite in itself has no efficacy, 
and does not change the character of its subject ; but 
it is highly useful to Christians as signifying the bap- 
tism of the Holy Ghost. It is not regeneration, ex- 
cept as this term has sometimes been used to denote 
fche change in the outward relation of baptized per- 
sons to the church referred to in the expression, born 
of water ; but it signifies regeneration by the Holy 
Spirit either as already experienced, or as necessary. 

Two modes of baptism are used, sprinkling and 
immersion. Most persons believe that sprinkling is 
the Scriptural mode, and that the original word 
translated baptize, includes sprinkling as well as im- 
mersion, especially as used in the Scriptures. It 
seems probable that John the Baptist baptized by 



160 Baptism. 

immersion, but that Christ's disciples baptized by 
sprinkling, in accordance with the Jewish custom of 
baptizing heathen proselytes, first by immersion to 
denote their renunciation of idolatry, and afterwards 
by sprinkling to denote their conversion to the Jew- 
ish religion. John's baptism w T as not the same as 
Christian baptism, for the Apostle Paul said to some 
who had been baptized by John, " John verily bap- 
tized with the baptism of repentance, sa # ying unto 
the people, that they should believe on Him. which 
should come after him, that is on Christ, and when 
they heard this they were baptized in the name of 
the Lord Jesus." 

Christian baptism seems to have been administered 
by sprinkling. In some cases it could scarcely have 
been administered by immersion. It seems impossible 
that the disciples of Christ could have baptized three 
thousand persons on the day of Pentecost after they 
had been first converted the same day by their 
preaching. Nor does it seem probable that the jailer 
and his family were baptized by immersion the same 
night he believed, after midnight, and in the prisoa. 
The baptism of the Apostle Paul, as related, is in- 
consistent with the idea of immersion, for being in a 
house, and having been just restored to sight, he 
arose and was baptized. Besides, there is no reason 
why baptism by sprinkling should have been intro- 
duced and have become so prevalent at an eaily 
period if it was not the authorized mode. Though, 
too, it could be proved that baptism was originally 
administered by immersion in a warm climate, it 



Baptism. 161 

should not be inferred that it ought to be in colder 
countries, where, in many cases, it cannot be without 
great exposure of health, while sprinkling is under- 
stood to signify the same. Especially, since the most 
candid persons differ in their opinions on the subject, 
the mode of baptism should not be considered es- 
sential. Either mode fulfills the design of baptism 
if believed to be authorized, and Christ looks on the 
heart rather than the mode. 

The proper subjects of baptism are true Christians 
and their families. All admit that true Christians 
are proper subjects, but a great many doubt the pro- 
priety of baptizing infants and others belonging to 
the families of Christians. One reason they assign 
is, that it is not expressly commanded. But, for the 
same reason, Christians should not keep the Chris- 
tian Sabbath but the Jewish, and they need not pray 
in their families. 

The Scriptural authority for infant baptism is de- 
rived partly from the consideration that baptism 
takes the place of circumcision. Though this was a 
national rite, and partly designed to keep the Jews 
distinct from other nations, it was chiefly a seal of 
God's covenant with Abraham and his posterity, 
especially his spiritual descendants. As such, it was 
essentially the same as Christian baptism. The Apos- 
tle Paul called it a seal of the righteousness by 
faith. He also wrote, " He is not a Jew which is one 
outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is out- 
ward in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one 
inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in 



1 62 Baptism. 

the spirit and not in the latter." The -same is true of 
baptism. It has become the seal of the righteousness 
by faith in the place of circumcision, and since infants 
were circumcised they should now be baptized. Of 
what use, it may be asked, is such an ordinance to 
an infant ? Of precisely the same use that circum- 
cision was. 

Instances related in the New Testament favor 
infant baptism. Infants were brought to Christ 
that He might bless them, and when His disciples 
rebuked those who brought them, He said, "Suffer 
little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, 
for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Though this 
does not refer to baptism, should it not encourage 
parents to consecrate their children to Christ as 
is done in their baptism? It is also related that 
Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened, that she 
attended unto the things which were spoken by 
Paul, was baptized, and her household ; also, that 
the jailer was baptized and all his straightway. 
It appears that in these instances the families of 
believers were baptized as well as themselves, and 
though there may have been no infants or children 
in them, there probably were, or if there had been, 
they would have been baptized. 

It appears, also, from history, that infant baptism 
has been administered in Christian churches as far 
back as any reference is made to it, and that the 
opposition to it did not originate till about the 
eleventh century. JSTo time can be specified when 
it was introduced since that of the apostles, and 



Baptism, 163 

hence it should be inferred that they authorized 
and administered it. 

The relation of haptized children to the chitrch 
is peculiar and interesting. Since baptism is the 
regular form of admission to the Christian church, 
they are members of it as the circumcised children 
of the Jews were members of the Jewish church. 
As such they are the objects of God's special favor, and 
He has made special promises to them, as it is writ- 
ten : " For the promise is to you and your children ;" 
also, " I will establish my covenant with thee, and 
with thy seed after thee in their generations for an 
everlasting covenant." They cannot, indeed, be 
received into Christian fellowship, since they do not 
profess to be Christians, and they are not mem- 
bers of any particular church till they assent to its 
covenant ; but their relation to the church of Christ 
should be regarded as very important. There is 
abundant evidence that God has been faithful to His 
promises. Children who have been consecrated to 
God in baptism, and whose parents have been mind- 
ful of the obligations thus assumed, have shared 
largely in the blessings of grace and salvation. It 
is true that the obligations of parents to their chil- 
dren are essentially the same without baptism as 
with it — and, in either case, the- blessing of God, 
doubtless, accompanies the faithful discharge of 
parental duties; but infant baptism, regarded as a 
Christian duty, is a solemn ordinance fitted to im- 
press parents with a sense of their obligations, so 
that they are more apt to be faithful to their chil- 



164 The Lord's Supper. 

dren ; and these, when they learn what their parents 
have done for them and begin to realize what is in- 
volved in it, are more apt to feel their own obligations 
to God, and to seek the blessings promised them 
for the sake of their pious parents. Their baptism, 
also, should elicit for them the prayers of the whole 
church, and special efforts to secure their repentance 
and salvation. 

THE LORD'S SUPPER* 

The Lord's Supper is a Christian ordinance insti- 
tuted by Christ, just before His death, as a memorial 
of himself. " Do this," He said to His disciples, 
" in remembrance of me." As a dying friend is apt 
to leave some memorial of his love, so this is Christ's 
memorial. It is admirably fitted, also, to fulfill its 
design, being so simple, that the mind is not apt to 
be so much occupied with the ceremony as to forget 
its meaning, also so generally and frequently observed, 
that none can, easily avoid being often solemnly im- 
pressed with the truths it signifies. 

In remembering Christ at His table, Christians 
think of Him as the Son of God, one with the 
Father and Himself God, otherwise the ordinance 
is not worthy of observance. They, also, think of 
His humiliation in laying aside the glory He had 
with the Father before the world was, becoming a 
man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, being 
despised and rejected of men, and not having where 
He might lay His head, and of His ministry in going 
about doing good, healing diseases, and preaching 



The Lord's Supper. 165 

the Gospel to the poor. But they commemorate par- 
ticularly His sufferings and death on the cross. 
" For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this 
cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come." The 
cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the commu- 
nion of the blood of Christ ? The bread which we 
break, is it not the communion of the body of 
Christ ? 

The proper observance of the Lord's Supper must 
evidently be accompanied with true repentance for 
sin. " He was wounded for our transgressions ; He 
was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of 
our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we 
are healed." u All we, like sheep, have gone astray, 
and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us 
all." Hence, in approaching the Lord's table, all 
should feel humble and penitent in view of their 
sinfulness and guilt. At the same time they should 
trust in Him as their Saviour, and thus be filled with 
the peace of God that passeth all understanding, and 
with joy unspeakable and full of glory. The Lord's 
Supper should be a joyful occasion to Christians. 
Though they must come to it as sinners, they should 
come with their guilt washed away, and clothed in 
the robes of Christ's righteousness, so that they may 
not eat and drink unworthily, but have a foretaste 
of the marriage-supper of the Lamb. Here, too, 
they should renewedly consecrate themselves to the 
service of Christ, that they may better adorn their 
profession by holy living, keeping themselves un- 
spotted from the world. Such an observance of the 



1 66 The Christian Sabbath. 

Lord's Supper, being in accordance with Christ's 
commandment to His disciples just before His death, 
is plainly a Christian duty, and should be regarded 
as a great privilege. Especially how can any, who 
hope for salvation through Christ, be willing or 
disposed to neglect it ? 

THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH. 

The Sabbath is a day of sacred rest ; not merely 
of rest, but sacred rest. The fourth commandment 
is, " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 
Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work ; but 
the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God ; 
in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, 
nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-ser- 
vant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy 
gates, for in six days the Lord made heaven and 
earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the 
seventh day : wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath 
day and hallowed it." It is, therefore, a day set 
apart for sacred or religious duties. 

At first the seventh day of the week was the Sab- 
bath, and the same day is still observed as such by 
the Jews and a few Christians. But since the resur- 
rection of Christ, the first day of the week has been 
generally observed by Christians as the Sabbath, in 
commemoration of that event. His disciples were 
accustomed to meet on the first day of the week for 
religious worship, and Christ may be considered as 
having sanctioned the observance of that day as the 
Sabbath, by appearing to them at different times 



The Christian Sabbath. 167 

when they were assembled for worship. There seems 
to be no reason- indeed, whv the change should have 
been made without His authority or the inspiration 
of the Holy Spirit. It is, also, particularly appro- 
priate, that as the Sabbath was originally instituted 
to commemorate the work of creation, t should be 
changed to commemorate the more important event 
of Christ's resurrection, and be called the Christian 
Sabbath. Besides, it is evidently not essential what 
particular day is observed, or at what particular hour 
it begins, only there are obvious reasons why we as 
Christians should observe the Christian Sabbath. 

It has been thought that the Sabbath was designed 
only for the Jews. But it was instituted at the crea- 
tion long before the Jewish nation existed. The 
division of time into weeks of seven days' proves 
that it was instituted before the human race was 
divided into nations and widely scattered. If, too, 
only the Jews were commanded to remember the 
Sabbath day to keep it holy, why should it not be 
supposed that they only were commanded not to kill 
or steal ? Besides, Christ taught that the Sabbath 
was made for man, all men. 

All men need the Sabbath. Facts abundantly 
prove that the body needs more rest than night 
affords. It has been found by extensive observation 
that constant labor for more than six davs in a week 
detracts from the vigor of the body, so that the same 
person can accomplish more in the course of his life- 
time by resting on the Sabbath than by laboring 
every day. Distinguished physicians say that cessa- 



1 68 The Christian Sabbath. 

tion from labor one day in seven contributes to the 
preservation of health and the restoration of the 
bodily powers. Dr. Eiish remarked : " If there was 
no hereafter, individuals and communities would be 
great gainers by attendance on public worship. 
Rest from labor and a proper observance of the Sab* 
bath w r ind up the machinery of the body better than 
anything else, and invigorates it for the labors of the 
ensuing week." The writer once heard a man say, 
that when he moved to the West, before canals and 
railroads were made, he traveled with several others. 
Some of them rested on the Sabbath and some pro- 
ceeded on their journey. Near the end of each 
week those who rested on the Sabbath usually over- 
took the others, and at the end of their journey the 
horses and cattle that had rest were in much the best 
condition. This is one of a great many facts w T hich 
prove that the Sabbath was made for man, and ought 
to be regarded. 

The mind, also, needs the rest and change of em- 
ployment which the Sabbath affords. Though great 
care be taken to relax its energies during the week, 
its vigor will be considerably impaired by six days 
close application to study, or any business that re- 
quires much thought. Such a man as Wilberforce 
of England said, he could never have accomplished 
so much in public life but for the rest of the Sabbath ; 
and his observation had taught him that many 
doubtless have found a premature grave or become 
insane by not withdrawing their minds from business 
on this day. 



The Christian Sabbath. 169 

As moral beings, too, we need to observe the Sab- 
bath. A disregard of this day is apt to lead to im- 
morality and crime. Blackstone, the distinguished 
commentator on law, whose authority is as great as 
that of any man, said that a corruption of morals 
usually follows a profanation of the Sabbath. In the 
State Prison of Connecticut ninety out of a hundred 
of its inmates, at the time of the investigation, had 
been habitual Sabbath-breakers. A keeper of one 
of the largest prisons said nine-tenths of the con- 
victs were persons who had disregarded the Sabbath. 
A distinguished merchant said : " When I see one of 
my clerks riding out for pleasure on the Sabbath, I 
dismiss him on Monday, for such an one cannot be 
trusted." The best classes in society consist chiefly 
of persons who are more or less strict in keeping the 
Sabbath, and the best communities are those in which 
this day is most sacredly regarded. 

Many instances, likewise, have been related, and 
are frequently occurring, in which God, by His pro- 
vidence, punishes in a striking manner persons who 
desecrate the Sabbath. More accidents happen, and 
more lives are lost on the Sabbath than on other davs 
in proportion to- the number that travel and seek re- 
creation. It is true that such calamities come on all 
men — and in particular cases it may be doubtful 
why they have occurred, yet a careful and extended 
observation will afford clear evidence that God 
blesses those who keep the Sabbath and curses those 
who desecrate it. " God blessed the Sabbath day and 
hallowed it." Blessed is the man that keepeth the 



170 The Christian Sabbath 

Sabbath from polluting it. On the other hand, God 
said to the Jews : " Ye have despised my holy things 
and profaned my Sabbath, therefore I have poured 
out my indignation upon you ; your own way have 
I recompensed upon your heads." Though we may 
not be able to apply these passages with certainty to 
particular cases, they are as applicable to men now 
as ever, 

Again, the l^bbath is indispensable to the preser- 
vation and extension of religion and the salvation of 
men. Blot out this day and you will blot out all 
vital religion. There would stfbn be no Christians if 
the day devoted to the worship of God and religious 
duties should cease to be observed. There would be 
few, if any conversions, and no revivals of religion. 
Even those who have already begun to hunger and 
thirst after righteousness would soon become ab- 
sorbed in worldly pursuits and sinful pleasures. Let 
the sacred influences of this holy day be suspended, 
and who can doubt that, according to the natural 
course of things, the Christian religion would soon 
be extirpated, and the waves of infidelity and irre- 
ligion roll over every land, sweeping away all that 
is cheering in the hopes and pleasing in the promises 
which now lighten up the Christian bosom with joy ! 
Hence it is that the enemies of the Sabbath and of 
true religion are found in the same ranks. The 
friends of religion are the friends of the Sabbath. 
To truly pious persons this sacred day is sweet, and 
often longed for. Their language is : 



The Christian Sabbath. ijl 

11 "Welcome, sweet day of rest, 
That saw the Lord arise ; 
Welcome to this reviving breast, 
And these rejoicing eyes." 

The proper observance of the Sabbath consist in 
keeping it holy — as a day set apart from a common 
to a sacred use, or as a day devoted to the Lord. In 
one sense, indeed, every day should be kept holy ; 
but while we should devote our lives to the Lord and 
do all things to His glory, we may properly attend 
to business and indulge in various kinds of pleasures 
on other days which are forbidden on the Sabbath. 
One day in seven is the Lord's day. Then the ap- 
propriate business of other days is to be laid aside, 
and even the innocent pleasures and amusements of 
common life are to be suspended. We may, indeed, 
as Christ taught, do works of necessity and mercy, 
and, perhaps, a less punctilious observance of the 
day in some respects is admissible than was required 
of the Jews or practised by our Puritan forefathers, 
provided the appropriate duties of the day shall not 
be neglected, and shall be faithfully and acceptably 
discharged ; but the day should be devoted to the 
special worship of God and various religious exer- 
cises and duties. All worldly pursuits, worldly con- 
versation, and worldly thoughts, should be avoided 
as much as possible. Yet spending the Sabbath in 
idleness would not be keeping it holy. Prayer, 
reading the Bible, and such religious books as illus- 
trate and enforce its truths, devout meditation, 
family and public worship, religious instruction, 



1 72 The Christian Sabbath. 

and such like duties only, are appropriate to the 
day of sacred rest, and there is less danger of being 
too strict than not strict enough in discharging 
them. Sincerity especially is requisite. To keep 
the Sabbath, yet be prompted to say, "What a 
weariness is it ? When will the day be gone ? " — is 
scarcely less offensive to God than its open dese- 
cration. But " If thou turn away thy foot from 
the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy 
day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the 
Lord honorable, and. shalt honor ' ' ^, not doing 
thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor 
speaking thine own words, then shalt thou delight 
thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride 
upon the high places of the earth and feed thee with 
the heritage of Jacob thy father ; for the mouth of 
the Lord hath spoken it." 

The guilt of those who do not remember the Sab- 
bath clay to keep it holy is exceedingly great and 
aggravated. None, indeed, keep it holy in all re- 
spects, but God accepts of the sincere desire and 
purpose to keep it though accompanied with imper- 
fect obedience, and condemns insincerity and willful 
disobedience. How great, then, is the guilt of dese- 
crating or even neglecting the Sabbath ! Think of it. 
The day approaches. The sun rises — to a devout 
mind it often seems with unusual splendor, declaring 
the glory of God. The earth is animated with life, 
and clothed with beauty, displaying His wisdom and 
goodness. The birds sing His praise, and the beasts 
rejoice. It is a day of rest. Man need not go forth 



Christian Worship. 173 

to his accustomed toil. He may, to-day, commune 
with God. The time may be spent in meditation, 
prayer, and worship, or reading the Word of God. 
The sanctuary is open, the Gospel is preached, and 
the offer of salvation proclaimed. But the day 
passes away, and from many dwellings no incense 
of prayer and praise ascends— in many hearts there 
are no aspirations after God and holiness. Not a 
moment, perhaps, is consecrated to the Lord. Of 
those who enter the sanctuary only a few are sincere 
worshipers. Many engage only in the form of 
worship without its spirit, and their thoughts are 
engrossed with the world and its pursuits. The 
day is often devoted, more than . any other, to 
sensual pleasures and vain amusements. ^Yitll 
many it is a day for visiting or recreation, riot- 
ing, and drunkenness. Thus the day which God 
lias hallowed is secretly or openly profaned. Be- 
fore another Sabbath many are summoned into 
His presence. How must they feel if only one 
desecrated Sabbath be remembered ! Will those 
who are not willing to devote one day in seven 
to the Lord, spend eternity in His worship and 
service? Since they delight not in the Sabbath 
on earth, will they be prepared for the eternal 
Sabbath in heaven? 

CHRISTIAN WORSHIP. 

The worship of God naturally accompanies the 
knowledge of Him. He claims it, and all who 
love Him cheerfully render it, not only in secret 



174 Christia7i Worship. 

and in the family, but also in public. An im- 
portant part of worship, prayer, has been already 
considered, but Public Worship as such, also, demands 
special attention. Among the Jews it was once 
chiefly confined to the Tabernacle and Temple, 
but at a later period was held in the Synagogues 
in various places. Though essentially the same 
at all times, it consisted more in sacrifices and 
ceremonies than since these were fulfilled in Christ, 
w T ho has taught us more clearly how we may wor- 
ship God acceptably in spirit and in truth. 

Among Christians, public worship includes the 
worship of Christ, the Son of God, and of the 
Holy Spirit. "The Father hath committed all judg- 
ment to the Son, that all men should honor the 
Son even as they honor the Father." "God, also, 
hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name 
which is above every name, that at the name of 
Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, 
and things in earth,* and things under the earth ; 
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus 
Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." 
It is only through Christ, as Mediator between God 
and man, and by the gracious influences of the 
Holy Spirit, that we can worship the Father ac- 
ceptably. Christian churches, properly so-called, 
worship God as the Father, and the Son, and the 
Holy Spirit, and are formed chiefly for this pur- 
pose. They are exhorted not to forsake the assem- 
bling of themselves together as the manner of some 
is, and in proportion as they have evidence that they 



Christian Worship. 175 

are Christians, they will delight in public worship, 
and be accustomed, as far as possible, to meet regu- 
larly for this purpose. " I was glad when they said 
unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord." 
" Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusa- 
lem." " A day spent in thy courts is better than 
a thousand." " I had rather be a door-keeper in 
the house of my God than dwell in the tents of 
wickedness." 

The appropriate exercises of public worship are 
chiefly prayer, singing spiritual songs and preach- 
ing, and hearing the Word of God. " These all 
continued with one accord in prayer and supplica- 
tion." " And they continued steadfastly in the 
Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking 
of bread and in prayers." " Teaching and admon- 
ishing one another in psalms, and hymns, and 
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts 
to the Lord." "In the midst of the church will 
I sing praise unto thee. I will praise the Lord with 
my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and 
in the congregation." "They assembled themselves 
with the church and taught much people." " The 
next Sabbath came almost the whole city together 
to hear the word of God." 

Of course, sincerity is essential to true worship. 
God is a spirit, and they that worship him must wor- 
ship Him in spirit and in truth. Appropriate forms, 
indeed, are required, and they often help the spirit 
of devotion. Assuming the attitude of worshipers 
often prepares the mind for spiritual exercises. 



I j6 Christian Worship. 

Bowing the knees may help to humble the heart. 
Confession of sin may lead to true repentance. The 
voice of prayer sometimes quickens the spirit. It is 
certain the spirit of worship will be expressed in 
appropriate forms. It may be justl^ inferred that 
those who habitually neglect public worship also 
neglect spiritual worship. They do not generally 
remain at home for the purpose of worshiping God 
in spirit. But there is often the form of worship 
without its spirit. Many come to the sanctuary, yet 
the -sincere worshipers are few. Some who sing 
sacred songs, and, doubtless, who offer solemn pray- 
ers, have not hearts attuned to the praise of God, or 
truly de\out. ^There is much solemn mockery of Him 
even when He is professedly worshiped. Hence all 
should be careful not only to engage in the worship 
of God at appropriate seasons, but also to cherish the 
spirit of devotion . 

Many of the remarks respecting the Sabbath are 
applicable to public worship since it is evidently 
included in the proper observance of the Sabbath, 
but there are special reasons why it should be re- 
garded as both a duty and privilege. 

Public worship honors God. Men are often hon- 
ored by public meetings held for the purpose, in 
which the public approbation and esteem are ex- 
pressed. So God is honored by those who meet for 
His worship, and the highest honor is due to Him. 
He only is to be worshiped. " The Lord is great and 
greatly to be praised." " O come let us worship and 
bow down ; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker." 



Clirutian Worship. 177 

" O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, fear 
before him all the earth." 

What is the impression naturally made on the 
mind by seeing the people in any place assembling 
in great numbers on the Sabbath for religious wor- 
ship, especially if they go regularly to the sanctuary 
to unite in prayer and praise and to hear the Word 
of God ? Many of them may be insincere, yet such 
a custom will not long prevail without real sincerity 
on the part of many. Some may go because others 
do, but in proportion as sincerity is wanting, the at- 
tendance will be small. In a large congregation of 
worshipers, without any special attractions of out- 
ward forms and ceremonies, or of eloquence and 
music, there must be more or less sincerity, and the 
impression made on the mind is, that God is re- 
garded as worthy of the supreme love and devotion 
of men. When we go into any place and see as 
the most prominent object a suitable house of wor- 
ship with its spire pointing to heaven, as if to 
remind the people where their thoughts and affec- 
tions should chiefly be, and on the Sabbath hear the 
church-bell summoning them together, and see them 
generally assembling for religious worship, we feel 
that God is honored in that place. On the other 
hand, if we find no house dedicated to God, and on 
the Sabbath see none assembling for His worship, 
we feel that God is dishonored there. How can the 
people in a community honor God more than by a 
regular attendance on public worship and a daily life 
that evinces the sincerity of their love and devotion ? 



178 Christian Worship. 

Public worship is, also, intimately connected with 
temporal prosperity. We may not notice the con- 
nection, nor always be able to discover it, yet it 
evidently exists. The prosperity of the Jews de- 
pended in a great measure on their religious worship. 
When they sincerely worshiped Jehovah they were 
blessed, but when they worshiped idols, or became 
insincere- and corrupt, they were visited with famine, 
pestilences, and wars, carried into captivity, and 
finally destroyed as a nation. The prosperity of 
Jerusalem especially was greatly promoted, because 
thither the tribes of the Lord went up unto the tes- 
timony of Israel to give thanks unto the Lord. So 
the sincere worship of God in any community greatly 
promotes its welfare. A narrow and contracted view 
may lead some persons to a different conclusion. 
By estimating only the cost of public worship and 
the time devoted to it, we might be led to the con- 
clusion that the people are so much poorer than they 
might have been. But we shall find on careful ob- 
servation that those who do most to support public 
worship are generally blessed with the greatest tem- 
poral prosperity. The displeasure of God evidently 
rests on those communities, families and individuals 
who neglect His worship. Such neglect is usually 
attended with vicious indulgences or with extrava- 
gance and dissipation, which are far more expensive 
than public worship. If any one thinks that he can- 
not afford to provide himself and his family a seat 
in the sanctuary, let him calculate whether this 
would cost more than they will be apt to spend 



Christian Worsh ip. \Jg 

elsewhere in feasting or amusements, at saloons or 
grog-shops, and in other ways, if they are not accus- 
tomed to attend public worship. It has been found 
by long observation that w\hen the people in a com- 
munity neglect to build a house of worship or allow 
one to go to decay, and suspend the ordinances of 
the Gospel, the value of property is far less than in 
other similar places where public worship is attended. 
So evident is this, that infidels and irreligious men 
have often aided in building churches and support- 
ing public worship,* chiefly for the purpose of increas- 
ing the value of their property. In proportion, too, 
as public worship is neglected, the expenses of pri- 
vate law-suits and criminal courts increase. Those 
who rob God of His worship, rob themselves of a 
great deal more than it would cost to build a church 
and sustain its ordinances. 

Again, public worship is favorable to intelligence, 
virtue, and social order. An influence goes forth 
from the sanctuary pervading, more or less all minds, 
which tends to diffuse through society the purest 
sentiments, the most shining virtues, the truest re- 
finement, and the highest intellectual and moral 
culture. This influence might be greatly increased 
by a more general, regular, and devout attendance, 
but to it we already owe for the larger share of our 
social privileges and blessings. Who would be 
willing to live where there is no house of worship 
and where no worshiping assembly ever meets ? 
What kind of society would be found in such a 
place ? Such as some, indeed, prefer, but only 



i8o Public Worship. 

persons lost to virtue and all that contributes to the 
public good. 

Most important is the consideration that the place 
of worship is apt to be the gate of heaven to immortal 
souls. If, as in some periods of Christianity, an at- 
tendance on public worship should expose us to per- 
secution and death, still we should not be willing to 
relinquish it. If we are already Christians, the 
children of God, and heirs of heaven, it is not pro- 
bable that we should have become such, if we had 
never attended public worship ; and if it should now 
be suspended, and its hallowed influences should 
cease to be felt, there would be no more conversions, 
and no more growth in grace. How intimately, then, 
are our hopes of heaven, both for ourselves and 
others, connected with public worship 1 They would 
all vanish with the suspension of the various means 
of grace connected with it. Those who habitually 
neglect the worship of God on earth should abandon 
all hope of uniting with those who worship him in 
heaven. If we would cherish such a hope, we must 
keep company with the people of God, go with them 
to His house, and unite with them in His worship ; 
sing with them the songs of Zion, and pr&y with 
them for the blessings of grace and salvation. Thus 
only shall we be prepared for the worship an* 3 service 
of God in heaven. 



The Millennium. 181 

THE MILLENNIUM. 

It appears to have been a favorite opinion in all 
ages of the world, that a happier period is approach- 
ing. Even heathen poets have sung of the returning 
golden age, or a period of great happiness on the 
earth. What is so generally believed is apt to have 
some foundation in reason, though the truth itself 
may be very imperfectly understood and mingled 
with much error, but it is certain only so far as the 
Bible clearly predicts it. 

The happy period referred to is now commonly 
called the Millennium, which means a period of a 
thousand years. It is so called because it is general- 
ly believed to be the same period that is predicted in 
the passage from Revelation, " And they lived and 
reigned with Christ a thousand years." Whether this 
passage refers to it or not, numerous other passages 
clearly predict the final triumph of truth and right- 
eousness among men, as : " In thy seed shall all the 
nations of the earth be blessed." "The Lord hath 
said unto me, Thou art my Son, this day have I be- 
gotten thee. Ask of me, and I will give thee the 
heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts 
of the earth for thy possession." " He shall have do- 
minion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the 
ends of the earth." " All kings shall fall down be- 
fore Him ; all nations shall serve Him." "And it 
shall come to pass in the last days, that the moun- 
tain of the Lord's house shall be established in the 
top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the 



1 82 The Millennium. 

hills, and all nations shall flow unto it." " And He 
shall judge among the nations, and they shall beat 
their swords into plow shares, and their spears into 
pruning hooks ; nation shall not lift up sword against 
nation; neither shall they learn war any more." 
" The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the 
leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and 
the young lion and the fading together, and a little 
child shall lead them." " They shall not hurt nor 
destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall 
be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters 
cover the sea." " And they shall teach no more 
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, 
saying, know the Lord ; for they shall all know me, 
from the least unto the greatest, saith the Lord." "And 
I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, hav- 
ing the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that 
dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, 
and tongue, and people." 

The precise time when the Millennium will begin 
cannot be certainly determined. All human predic- 
tions respecting it have hitherto failed. But the signs 
of the times indicate its rapid approach. Christian 
missions have been established in all parts of the 
world, and have already accomplished a great work. 
The Bible has been translated into many languages 
and widely circulated. Facilities for communication 
with all parts of the world are greatly multi- 
plied. Many are running to and fro, and knowledge 
is increased. We may expect, too, that the Gospel 
will be more rapidly diffused in succeeding years. 



The Millennium. 183 

The promises of God are sure, though with him 
one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years 
as one day. 

The reasonable expectation of the Millennium af- 
fords abundant encouragement to Christians in their 
efforts to spread the Gospel, and to convert the world. 
Even their past success has been greater than could 
have been reasonably expected from the means em- 
ployed. But they should be encouraged to put forth 
much greater efforts ; for they are sure of final suc- 
cess, and the prospect now is that the spread of truth 
and holiness will soon be much more rapid than in 
any past period. To some it may seem that God can 
and will accomplish his purposes of grace without 
any efforts on the part of His people, but we are 
plainly taught that His purposes include human in- 
strumentality, and that it is our privilege, as well 
as duty, to be humble instruments in saving 
others, and hastening forward the glorious period, 
when the kingdoms of this world shall become 
the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and 
He shall reign for ever and ever: otherwise, too, we 
should not hope to be rewarded with the faithful who 
shall receive a crown of life. " Behold," says 
Christ, " I come quickly, and my reward is with me, 
to give to every man according as his work shall be." 

The Millennium, especially, is fitted to impress us 
with the glory of God in respect to the great number 
who will be finally saved. He is glorified by the 
salvation of a single soul, and still more by the sal- 
vation of all those who have been already redeemed 



184 The Millennium. 

from among men. But hitherto, there is reason to 
fear, comparatively few have been saved, and the 
larger part of the world is still sunk in ignorance, 
superstition and corruption. If, however, the Mil- 
lennium shall continue only a thousand years, as we 
compute time, the population of the earth would 
soon become so great, after wars, intemperance, and 
other vices, also the diseases which sin occasions, 
shall cease, that it will far exceed the whole number 
previously born. It will naturally be doubled in 
every fifty years, and, at that rate, as it has been es- 
timated by a plain arithmetical calculation, the num- 
ber of inhabitants on the earth during the Millennium, 
will be more than seventeen thousand times greater 
than the whole number during all the time preceding 
it. Besides it is not certain that the Millennium will 
be limited to a thousand years as we compute time. 
It may be a much longer period. Supposing, then, 
that during the happy period referred to, most of the 
inhabitants on the earth will be converted and saved 
in addition to the number who will be before, includ- 
ing also infants, it is easy to estimate that there will 
be thousands saved to one lost. At least there w T ill 
be a great multitude which no man can number, of 
all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, 
who shall stand before the Throne and before the 
Lamb, clothed with white robes, and with palms in 
their hands, crying with a loud voice, saying, " Salva- 
tion to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and 
unto the Lamb." 

" The eye of hope," said Prof. Stuart, " is directed 



The Millennium. 185 

forward and sees the thousand years of uninterrupted 
prosperity, and then after the destruction of a sudden 
and new enemy, all is left to joyful anticipations. 
When all the clouds arc swept away from the face of 
the sky, why should not the sun shine forth in full 
splendor ? I cannot doubt that the setting sun of the 
Church on earth is to be as a heaven of unclouded 
splendor. Peaceful and triumphant will be her 
latest age. The number of the redeemed will be 
augmented beyond all computation. The understand- 
ing and pious reader of Revelation closes the book 
with admiration, with wonder, with delight, and with 
lofty anticipations of the future, and with undaunted 
resolution to follow in the footsteps of those who 
through faith and patience have inherited the pro- 
mises, and entered into everlasting rest." 



LIFE THE ONLY SEASON OP PROBATION. 



"Be not deceived ; God is not mocked ; for what- 
soever a man soweth that shall he also reap. For he 
that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corrup- 
tion ; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the 
Spirit reap life everlasting." 

Life is here represented as the seed-time of our ex- 
istence. We are now sowing the seed of joy or 
sorrow, and what we sow we shall reap. Assum- 
ing for the present our future existence, we shall 
show that the present life is connected with the life 
to come ; that our characters and conduct in this 
world will determine whether we shall be happy or 
miserable in eternity. This should be inferred from 
our past experience and observation. There is, cer- 
tainly, a connection between early life and middle or 
advanced life. The habits formed in youth are apt 
to adhere to a person in manhood and old age. Good 
children naturally become good men and women, 
while the opposite is true of the bad. Idleness and 
dissipation, vice and crime in youth, lead to poverty 
and want, wretchedness and sorrow, in mature life, 
and often to a premature grave ; while industry, fru- 
gality, morality, and virtue, lead to prosperity, re- 
spectability, and happiness. There are, indeed, many 
exceptions to this rule in life viewed separately from 

186 



Life the only Season of Probation. 187 

its results in eternity. The connection between what 
men sow and what they reap is not uniform in this 
world, yet it is certain, and we are led to suspect, 
that there will be more reaping after death. Even 
here the reaping is usually long after the sowing. 
See the intemperate. At first they seem to be secure 
and happy, but, ere long, they reap disgrace, wretch- 
edness, sorrow, poverty, disease terminating in deli- 
rium tremens, and premature death. See the crim- 
inals in jails and prisons. They are only reaping 
what they have sown. Again, notice the idle and 
improvident. How soon they begin to reap embar- 
rassment, failure, and want! On the other hand, 
industry and perseverance, accompanied with pru- 
dence, economy, temperance, and such like virtues, 
seldom fail to produce a fruitful old age. Thus we 
may observe, as another has remarked, that " On 
the one hand the consequences of vice travel over in 
advance of the pleasure it at first aifords, and fix 
themselves deep beyond human power to eradicate 
them in the property, health, reputation, or peace 
of the man of guilt — nay, perhaps the consequences 
thicken until we take our last view of him as he 
gasps in death, and all that we know of him as he 
goes from our observation is, that heaven's thunder- 
bolts are seen trembling in the hand of God and 
pointing their vengeance at the head of the dying 
man. On the other hand, the happy consequences 
of virtue are so uniform that all expect its practice 
will render them more or less prosperous, respectable, 
and happy." 



1 88 Life the only Season of Probation. 

JSTow, should it be supposed that all the natural 
consequences of our course of life which follow us 
to its close will cease to follow us beyond the grave? 
What is there in death more than in sleep to break 
the connection between our characters and conduct 
now and our future happiness or misery ? Why may 
w r e not as reasonably believe that what we do to-day 
will not affect us to-morrow, as that our present 
course of life will not affect our well-being in eternity ? 
"We should also consider that the results of life as 
they are known in this world, are, doubtless, widely 
different from what they would be if life should be 
longer. 

It is particularly important to notice in what re- 
spects life is a season of probation. It is not a 
probation like that of our first parents in Eden. It 
will not determine whether we shall remain holy or 
become sinful. This is already determined. Our 
probation is that of sinners to whom forgiveness and 
salvation are offered on condition of repentance and 
faith in Christ as our Saviour. Whatever our char- 
acters may be in other respects, however amiable 
and virtuous, or however vile, in one respect we are 
all alike, and the momentous concern of life is salva- 
tiooij and life will determine whether we shall believe 
in Christ, and be saved or believe not and be damned. 
" He that believeth shall be saved, and he that be- 
lieveth not shall be damned." 

Life, too, is the only season of probation. It is 
sufficient It may not seem so to those w T ho are dis- 
posed to defer the chief concern of life to a later 



Life the only Season of Probation. 189 

period, but if rightly improved it will be long 
enough. Momentous as are the interests at stake, 
much time is not required to transact all the business 
that pertains to eternity. The salvation of the soul 
can be secured at any moment, in a brief period as 
well as in eternity. A longer period than life, short 
and uncertain as it is, would not be improved if the 
allotted period is not. " If they hear not Moses and 
the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though 
one rose from the dead." For the same reason, if 
they believe not the Gospel on earth, neither would 
they believe it though it should be preached to them 
after death. The idea of another probation only 
encourages sinners to neglect this. Nor is there the 
least intimation in the Scriptures that another proba- 
tion will be allotted to men. On the contrary, they 
plainly teach that life is the only season of proba- 
tion. " Now is the accepted time, now is the day 
of salvation." " To-day, if ye will hear his voice, 
harden not your hearts." " Work while it is called 
to day ; the night cometh in which no man can 
work." " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it 
with thy might, for there is no work, nor devise, nor 
knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou 
goest." "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; 
and he which is filthy let him be filthy still ; and he 
that is righteous, let him be righteous still ; and he 
that is holy, let him be holy still." 



1 90 Death. 



DEATH 



We are already familiar enough with Death. "We 
know what it is, its certainty, its suddenness, its terrors, 
and its solemnity. In these respects w T e need neither 
reason nor revelation to teach us more respecting 
it. It is certainly the end of life, more or less melan- 
choly and dreadful to all, alarming and terrible to 
some, yet to others cheered with the liveliest hopes 
and the most pleasing anticipations. We shall con- 
sider it chiefly as the consequence of sin, or as 
affected by it, and as the commencement of an end- 
less existence in another world or state. 

Death, as we consider it, is a part of the curse 
pronounced on men as sinners, but not a part of the 
proper penalty of sin. The penalty was: "In the 
day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. " The 
curse was : " Cursed is the ground for thy sake ; in 
sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life ; 
thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, 
and thou shalt eat the herb of the field ; in the sweat 
of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto 
the ground; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt 
thou return." Believers in Christ are delivered 
from the proper penalty of sin, but not from its curse, 
including the death of the body. 
• The sting of death is sin. Though dreadful in 
itself it is chiefly feared on account of the conscious- 
ness of guilt, and the impression that just and awful 
punishment awaits sinners after death. Hence the 
fear of death is dispelled by faith in Christ as the 



Death. 191 

Saviour, and Christians often triumph over it, say- 
ing : " O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is 
thy victory ? Thanks be to God which giveth us the 
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 



THE FUTUBE STATE. 



IMMORTALITY. 

If a man die, shall lie live again ? It is certainly 
possible. God, who created ns and preserves us 
while we live, can as easily prolong our existence 
after death. 

Nor is there any proof that death w T ill be anything 
more than a change in the place and circumstances 
of our existence. After it we shall not exist in this 
world as at present, but, for aught we know, we 
shall exist. 

The idea, too, that we shall exist after death ac- 
cords with changes which we see taking place in the 
natural world. In the fall of the year the grass 
withers and seems to die, the trees drop off their fad- 
ing leaves, and the whole vegetable world becomes 
apparently lifeless, but in the spring new life and 
fresh beauty appear. At one time, also, we see a 
loathsome worm crawling on the ground; soon it 
wraps itself in a covering which it makes for the 
purpose and dies. In a little while, however, it as- 
sumes new life, and becomes a beautiful butterfly. 
So man dies and wastes away — yea, man giveth up 
the ghost, and where is he? But why should it be 
doubted that the same Almighty Being who changes 
the dreariness of winter into the freshness and beauty 

198 



Immortality. 1 93 

of spring, and the loathsome caterpillars into beauti- 
ful and gay butterflies, will cause man, though he 
die, to live again, this corruptible to put on incor- 
ruption, and this mortal to put on immortality? Such 
analogy, indeed, is not positive proof of our future 
existence, but it shows that it is not improbable. 

One reason for believing in a future existence is, 
that our thoughts, desires, hopes, and fears, extend 
beyond the present life. Who does not desire to exist 
after death ? Who does not aspire after immortality ? 

" Immortal ! Were but one immortal, 
How would others envy ! How would thrones adore! 
,r Tis immortality ; 'tis that alone 
The soul can comfort, elevate, aed fill." 

Indeed, Milton not unnaturally represents even the 
fallen angels as preferring to exist in hell rather than 
not to exist, saying : 

" To be no more \ Sad cure ; for who would lose, 
Though full of pain, this intellectual being, 
To perish rather; swallowed up and lost, 
Devoid of sense and motion V 

, Certain it is that nothing but sin has extinguished 
in any one the desire and hope of immortality. There 
is no evidence that animals have any idea of a future 
existence. They have no thoughts or desires, no 
hopes or fears, extending beyond life. They never 
think of the flight of time, of the fashion of this 
.world as passing away— they never think of death 
or eternity, Hence it makes no difference with 



194 Immortality. 

them whether they are immortal or not. But we 
think, and are often obliged to think of our life-time 
as passing away, of death as near at hand, and may 
we not reasonably extend our thoughts into eternity ? 
If not, why are we "so constituted that we cannot 
avoid it ? It would be better to be like brutes, and 
have no desires and hopes extending beyond the pre- 
sent. Must we, then, look forward to death as the 
end of our existence ? Since we have been endowed 
with intellectual power to extend our thoughts into 
eternity, to desire and hope for immortality, is it not 
reasonable to conclude that He who made ns made 
us immortal? Even our fears respecting a future 
state, lest it may be accompanied with the dreadful 
consequences of sin, and be tilled up with wretched- 
ness and despair, point to scenes which lie beyond 
the boundaries of time. 

Another reason for believing in a future existence 
is, that our minds are capable of vastly greater im- 
provement than is ever attained on earth. The wisest 
men that ever lived were only as little children 
in knowledge and other attainments compared with 
what they might have become. There is no limit 
to human knowledge and perfection. Can we, then, 
believe that God designs to blot us out of being when 
we die ? Will He not sooner blot out the sun than 
such intelligent and moral beings as we are ? 

We may, also, infer our future existence from the 
unsatisfactory results of life. If we consider it as 
connected with another life, if it is only the begiiir 
ning of our existence, and is designed to prepare us 



Immortality. 195 

for a future state, then we should infer that the end 
of our being is the wisest and best that could be de- 
vised. But if death is an eternal sleep, and the soul 
as well as the body will soon mingle with the dust, 
life is a failure. Even heathen philosophers have 
reasoned more wisely than this: "I am persuaded,'' 
said one of them, " that such is the activity of the 
soul, such is its memory of the past, and its foresight 
of the future, and such its attainments, that it cannot 
be mortal." 

Again, the justice of God demands a future state 
of existence. In this world the wicked are often 
very prosperous, and the righteous greatly afflicted. 
The guilty often escape punishment and the innocent 
suffer. Good men have been persecuted and put to 
death, and bad men been greatly honored. If there 
is a future state of reward and punishment this is 
no proof of injustice; but otherwise it would be dif- 
ficult to reconcile many things in life w T ith the right- 
eous government of God. 

Such are some of the arguments which reason 
alone furnishes in favor of the immortality of the 
soul. The Scriptures teach it so plainly that none 
can doubt it without rejecting their divine authority. 
It has been objected, indeed, that the Old Testament 
seldom refers to it. But it should be considered that 
this truth, so generally believed without the Bible, 
must have been familiar to the Jews, and did not 
need to be revealed to them. It should not be sup- 
posed that they had no other ideas respecting it 
than are expressed in the Old Testament. Besides, 



196 Immortality. 

the future state is clearly referred to in the Old Tes- 
tament, and especially is implied in other truths 
which it teaches : "Then shall the dust return to the 
earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God 
who gave it." " All the days of my appointed time 
will I wait till my change come." " As for me I 
will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be 
satisfied when I awake in thy likeness." u The 
wicked is driven away in his wickedness, but the right- 
eous hath hope in his death." "Mark the perfect 
man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man 
is peace." Other passages refer to the resurrection 
of the body : " My flesh shall rest in hope ; for thou 
wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer 
thy holy one to see corruption." " Many of them 
that sleep in the dust shall awake ; some to ever- 
lasting life, and some to shame and everlasting 
contempt." 

In the 'New Testament the immortality of the soul 
is most clearly taught. Of Christ it is written : 
" Who hath abolished death, and hath brought life 
and immortality to light through the gospel." Though 
He did not first teach this truth, He brought it to 
light by teaching it much more clearly than it had 
been known before, and by teaching many new truths 
respecting it. " Fear not," he said, " them who kill the 
body, but are not able to kill the soul ; but rather 
fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body 
in hell." Referring to the passage of Scripture, i% I 
am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and 
the God of Jacob," he added, u God is not the God 



The Intermediate State. 197 

of the dead, but of the living." In the parable of 
the rich man and Lazarus He describes the condition 
of both after death. Also in various passages de- 
scribing the resurrection of the dead, the final judg- 
ment, the everlasting happiness of the righteous, and 
the everlasting punishment of the wicked, He refers 
to scenes bevond the grave and an endless existence. 
The Gospel, though it leaves the impenitent and 
unbelieving in darkness and despair, in which all 
would have been without it, lightens up the pathway 
beyond the tomb to all true Christians, and conducts 
them at death away from all earthly cares and turmoils, 
away from temptation and sin, to a world of purity 
and eternal glory. " For we know that if our earthly 
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a 
building of God, a house not made with hands, eter- 
nal in the heavens." " We are willing rather to be 
absent from the body and present with the Lord." 
"I have fought a good fight; I have finished my 
course ; I have kept the faith ; henceforth there is 
laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the 
Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me at that day." 
"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from 
henceforth ; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest 
from their labors, and their works do follow them." 

THE INTERMEDIATE STATE. 

The Bible represents the soul after death as exist- 
ing separate from the body until the resurrection. 
This is called the intermediate state. How and where 
does the soul exist? These questions cannot be de- 



198 The Intermediate State. 

finitely answered, except in a few particulars. It 
does not exist, as some suppose, in an unconscious 
state like sleep. Though death is represented as sleep, 
only the body is referred to. The soul, though more 
or less affected by the body while connected with it, 
often retains its full consciousness till the last mo- 
ment ; and there is no proof that it then loses it. 
Even reason would lead us to believe that after 
breaking away from its tenement of clay it awakes 
to new consciousness of its immortality. According 
to the Bible, it soars on high attended by angels to 
the abode of the blessed, or sinks into utter misery 
and eternal despair. It goes immediately to heaven 
or to hell. Only these two places are mentioned 
in the Bible with reference to the dead. It teaches 
nothing about purgatory or any place for the wicked 
except hell, nor does it teach that there is any para- 
dise for the righteous except heaven. We may con- 
jecture much about the intermediate state, but all 
that we know is that when we die we shall go imme- 
diately to heaven or to hell. This is plainly taught by 
the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. " The 
beggar died, and was carried by angels into Abra- 
ham's bosom. The rich man also died, and was 
buried, and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in tor- 
ments." The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah 
are set forth for an example, suffering the ven- 
geance of eternal fire. Christians, on the other hand, 
are represented as willing rather to be absent from 
the body and present with the Lord, and as having 
a desire to depart and to be with Christ ; and those 



The Resurrection. 199 

who have died are represented as now in heaven with 
such men as Moses, Samuel, David, Paul, and all 
the redeemed. Their state and condition may be 
different in some respects after the resurrection, but 
they are already in heaven. 

THE RESURRECTION. 

The resurrection of the dead is an event which 
could not have been known without being revealed 
by God. It is evidently above reason, and even be- 
yond human conjecture. Yet it is not unreason- 
able, but consistent with other religious truths, 
and being clearly taught in the Bible, ought to be 
believed. Indeed, it is properly represented by the 
Apostle Paul as a fundamental doctrine of Chris- 
tianity : " If there be no resurrection of the dead, 
then is not Christ risen, and if Christ be not risen, 
then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also 
vain. Then they also which are fallen asleep in 
Christ are perished." Such an event is certainly 
possible. God can as easily raise the dead as He 
at first created them. ]^or are the Scriptural repre- 
sentations of such a scene absurd. What men 
imagine respecting it may be absurd and often 
ridiculous, and we should consider that the reality 
will, doubtless, far transcend the most vivid descrip- 
tions of it in human language, and differ widely from 
our best conceptions of what is taught, vet it i 
reality solemn and momentous beyond the power 01 
human language to express. 

The Bible clearly teaches that the dead will be 



200 The Resurrection. 

raised. We cited some passages from the Old Tes- 
tament to prove the immortality of the soul which 
refer particularly to the resurrection of the body, 
and it was so generally believed by the Jews that 
only a small sect, the Sadducees, denied it. Christ 
taught it most clearly : "The hour is coming, in the 
which all that are in the graves shall hear the voice 
of the Son of man, and shall come forth ; they that 
have done good nnto the resurrection of life, and 
they that have done evil unto the resurrection of dam- 
nation." "I am the resurrection and the life*" The 
apostles, it is also written, preached through Christ 
the resurrection of the dead. The Apostle Paul par- 
ticularly said : " Of the hope and resurrection of the 
dead 1 am called in question ; " and wrote, " I have 
hope towards God that there shall be a resurrection 
of the dead, both of the just and unjust." "Since 
by man came death, by man came also the resurrec- 
tion of the dead." " I would not have you ignorant, 
brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye 
sorrow not even as others who have no hope ; for if 
we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so 
them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with 
him." "The Lord himself shall descend from hea- 
ven with a shout, and with the voice of the arch- 
angel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in 
Christ shall rise first." The Apostle John, too, fore- 
telling this event, wrote: "And I saw the dead, 
small and great, stand before God, and the sea gave 
up the dead which were in it, and death and hell gave 
up the dead which were in them." 



The Resurrection. 201 

The same body that dies and decays will be raised, 
out it will be greatly changed. It is not essential 
that it shall be composed of precisely the same par- 
ticles of matter, or have precisely the same form, 
since in these respects it constantly changes before 
death ; but it will be the body of the same person, 
and be recognized as the same body. The bodies of 
Christians especially will be vastly superior to those 
they have on earth. They will be no longer liable 
to fatigue, infirmities, sickness, pain, or death, but 
will possess immortal life, beauty, and vigor. " It 
is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption." 
They will be glorious bodies, since we are taught 
that Christ will change our vile body that it may be 
fashioned like unto His glorious body. " It is sown 
in dishonor, it is raised in glory." They will be 
vastly more powerful after the resurrection than 
before, so that the redeemed in heaven will be as 
represented equal to the angels. "It is sown in 
weakness, it is raised in power." They will also be 
spiritual bodies. " It is sown a natural body, it is 
raised a spiritual body." " As we have borne the 
image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of 
the heavenly." " Now this I say, brethren, flesh and 
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither 
can corruption inherit incorruption. So when 
this corruption shall have put on incorrup- 
tion, and this mortal shall have put on im- 
mortality, then shall be brought to pass the 
saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in 
victory. O death, where is thy sting ? O grave, 



202 The Final Judgment. 

where is thy victory? Thanks be to God which 
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. " 

It may seem to some that the resurrection of the 
body, through which so many temptations to sin 
beset us, and in which we have suffered so much, is 
not desirable, but the victory over sin will not be 
complete till the body, as well as the soul, shall be 
redeemed from its power and restored to that state 
of perfection and enjoyment for which it was first 
created. Though, too, Christians will be perfectly 
happy immediately after death, constituted as we 
are we shall not attain to the highest perfection of our 
being till the glorious hour shall come, when we shall 
hear the voice of the Son of man bidding us see what 
we are now waiting for, the redemption of our body. 

The Bible does not speak particularly of the bodies 
of the wicked after the resurrection, except that they 
will be raised. It may be reasonably inferred, how- 
ever, that as sin tends to degrade the body as well as 
the soul, their bodies will be in striking contrast 
with those of the righteous, and be fitted for their 
state of condemnation. "He that is unjust, let him 
be unjust still ; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy 
still." " He that soweth to his flesh shall of the 
flesh reap corruption." 

THE FINAL JUDGMENT. 

"We have already considered the subject of human 
responsibility, and this naturally leads men to anti- 
cipate a judgment of some kind, though not such as 
is foretold in the Scriptures. Only the Judge Him- 
self could have disclosed that solemn scene, thus : 



The Final Judgment. 203 

€i When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and 
all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit on 
the throne of his glory ; and before him shall be 
gathered all nations ; and he shall separate them one 
from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep 
from the goats ; and he shall set the sheep on his 
right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the 
King say unto them on his right hand. Come ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared 
for you from the foundation of the world. Then 
shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart 
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for 
the devil and his angels." The same scene is also 
described in Revelation. "And I saw the dead 
small and great stand before God, and the books were 
opened, and another book was opened, which is the 
book of life ; and the dead were judged out of those 
things which were written in the books according to 
their works." " So then," it is also written, " every 
one of us shall give account of himself to God." 
"It is appointed unto men once to die, and after 
this the judgment." " God shall judge the righteous 
and the wicked." " For we must all appear before 
the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may re- 
ceive the things done in the body, according to that 
he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 

Oar conceptions of what the Bible teaches respect- 
ing the final judgment are of course imperfect, and 
may be in many respects false ; but as was remarked 
respecting the resurrection, the reality will doubtless 
far transcend the most vivid description of the scene. 



204 The Final Judgment. 

Some tilings respecting it are plain. God in Christ 
will judge the world in righteousness. The same 
Being who is now the Saviour of sinners will be their 
final Judge. The judgment will be at the end of the 
world. The day appointed or the time allotted for 
it will be sufficient. All will be judged and all will 
be pronounced righteous or wicked, not as they now 
appear to themselves or others, but as they appear to 
the Searcher of all hearts. The judgment will be im- 
partial, and be approved by all, even the wicked. 
The test of character will b3 true love and devotion 
to Christ, the Judge, according to his Gospel, also 
according to the opportunities afforded, and the 
amount of knowledge possessed. "Inasmuch," he 
will say, u as ye have done it, or did it not to one of 
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it, or 
did it not to me." Even the heathen will be without 
excuse, "for the invisible things of Him from the 
creation of the world are clearly seen, being under- 
stood from the things that are made, even his eternal 
power and Godhead. Which show the work of the 
law written on their hearts, their conscience also 
bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile 
accusing or else excusing one another." But it shall 
be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the 
day of judgment, than for those cities where Christ 
preached and wrought miracles, or any of the im- 
penitent who have heard the Gospel. "Especially," 
as another writer has expressed it, " the measure of 
our responsibility is vastly greater. We walk amid 
a clearer light than is remitted from these resplend- 



The Punishment of the Wicked, 205 

ent heavens ; we hear louder, fuller, and more im- 
pressive voices, than any which proceed from the 
hills and the valleys, the woods and the waters. 
The Revelation which has come to us direct from the 
throne of the Eternal, places us on a ground of re- 
sponsibility higher far than that of the most gifted 
sage who had no other light than the glimmering 
light of nature." " Unto whomsoever much is given, 
of the same much shall be required." 

THE PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. 

At the close of the judgment the sentence of Jus- 
tice will be executed. The penalty of sin will be in- 
flicted on the. guilty. The wicked will be punished. 
Whatever their punishment may be, it will be just. 
The righteous Judge will not inflict an unrighteous 
penalty. It greatly mitigates one's pain or misery to 
feel that he suffers unjustly, or that his sufferings are 
unmerited. There w'.ll be no such mitigation of the 
punishment of the wicked. It will be just. 

This truth misapplied satisfies many persons in a 
good degree while they live. All they expect is to be 
treated justly, and not be punished more severely than 
they deserve. But what satisfies them now, will not 
satisfy them at the judgment seat of Christ. Often 
their fears are excited in life, and especially in the 
hour of death. Many who had long been careless 
and unconcerned, have been so convicted of their 
guilt that they have tremblingly asked " What must 
I do to be saved ?" Such conviction of guilt will be 
much clearer and deeper at the judgment, so that 



206 The Punishment of the Wicked. 

such punishment as they would now pronounce un- 
just, they will then feel to be perfectly just. 

The future punishment of the wicked will be incon- 
ceivably dreadful. "These shall go away into ever- 
lasting punishment." " Depart, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." 
" Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer dark- 
ness ; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 
"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the 
nations that forget God." " Who shall be punished 
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the 
Lord and the glory of his power." " And whosoever 
was not found written in the Book of Life, was cast 
into the lake of fire." " And the smoke of their tor- 
ment ascendeth up for ever and ever." 

Admitting that such language, as well as that de- 
scribing the happiness of the righteous in heaven, is 
much of it figurative, yet it is used to express truth, 
and there is no reason to think that it means less than 
its literal import, but rather much more. The right- 
eous would be sadly disappointed to find heaven only 
a city whose walls are jasper, the gates pearls, and 
the streets pure gold as it were transparent glass. 
They expect something far superior to that, and 
which language cannot describe. So the language 
used to depict the future misery of the wicked does 
not exaggerate it, but fails to express the truth. Here, 
again, our conceptions are of course imperfect, and 
may be in many respects false, but the awful reality 
surpasses them. 

Many minds, doubtless, are prejudiced against the 



The Punishment of the Wicked. 207 

idea of future punishment, by often hearing alarm- 
ing expressions respecting it without perceiving their 
true meaning, though the truth itself is still more 
alarming, The expressions alone seem extravagant, 
and the ideas they suggest unnatural and forbidding, 
while the truth which they really teach, clearly per- 
ceived, commends itself to the consciences of men, 
and is fitted to guard them against temptation and 
sin, also warns them to flee from the wrath to come. 
What then, let us inquire, doest he Bible plainly teach, 
and what does our moral nature require us to be- 
lieve respecting the future punishment of the wicked? 

It is plain that the wicked will be excluded from 
heaven, deprived of the favor of God, and separated 
from all holy beings. " Without holiness no man 
shall see the Lord." M There shall in no wise enter 
into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever 
worketh abomination or maketh a lie." " The Judge 
shall say unto them on His left hand, Depart from 
me, ye that work iniquity." Otherwise heaven would 
not be heaven ; its joy would be extinguised, and its 
glory forever eclipsed. The wicked, too, would be 
miserable even there. What then will be their con- 
dition? "There shall be weeping and gnashing of 
teeth when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Ja- 
cob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, 
and yourselves thrust out." 

The wicked, too, will be condemned to hell. " The 
wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations 
that forget God." The word hell often means only 
the place of departed spirits, whether holy or sinful. 



208 The Punishment of the Wicked, 

bat in the passage just cited and others, it evidently 
means the opposite of heaven, and a place of punish- 
ment. In the original Greek different words are used 
to express these different meanings. Whatever may 
be the nature or the degree of the punishment in 
other respects, to be confined in any place designed 
for the punishment of the wicked, must be inconceiv- 
ably dreadful. There is misery enough in this world, 
beautiful and attractive as it is, vet it is not hell. 
Admitting that the Scriptural representations of that 
place are more or less figurative, is any one certain 
that the reality is less dreadful ; that it is not better 
to cut off a right hand, or to pluck out a right eye, 
than to be cast into hell; or that it is not far better to 
lose one's life than to lose one's soul ? 

The wicked in hell will at least be deprived of their 
present sources of enjoyment. This alone must make 
them extremely unhappy, far more so than they ever 
are in this world. We are so constituted that we 
cannot be happy, and must be very miserable away 
from the objects which we love most, especially if 
we cannot hope to possess and enjoy them again. 
Let a man whose property constitutes his principal 
source of enjoyment lose it all, and have no prospect 
of accumulating more ; how will he feel ? Generally, 
indeed, when a person loses one source of enjoyment 
he has many others left, and if he is a Christian he 
has a treasure laid up in heaven. But let him lose 
everything that he values. Seize a man with violence, 
and force him away from his home, his family, and 
his friends, his business and pleasures, and confine 



The Punishment of the Wicked. 209 

him in a place where he can neither enjoy nor hope 
to enjoy them any more ; this alone would make any 
of the wicked utterly miserable, for it would deprive 
them of all their present enjoyment. Since they love 
the world supremely, and are lovers of pleasures 
more than lovers of God, they cannot be happy any- 
where out of the world, and away from its pursuits 
and pleasures. Hence they will be utterly miserable 
in hell. 

Let a person, whose affections are all wrapped up 
in this world, think of his prospects for eternity. He 
can enjoy the world while he lives, but soon the cold 
grasp of death will seize hold of him. Then he will 
suspend his business, bequeath his property to others, 
bid his family and friends farewell, quit his home, 
and leave the world forever. Soon his body will 
moulder into dust, but in what condition will his soul 
be; happy or miserable? What conclusion is most 
reasonable? 

The wicked will also be miserable in hell because 

they will still he wicked. " The wicked is driven 

away in his wickedness." "He thai? is unjust, let 

him be unjust still, and he that is filthy, let him be 

•filthy stilV' 

Sin is naturally connected with misery. We can 
no more take fire into our bosoms without pain, than 
we can indulge in sin without sorrow and woe. We 
are not apt to consider how much disquietude and 
wretchedness it produces in this world. We are often 
unhappy, and wonder why Ave feel so, when we might 
trace it to our sinfulness. Sin in various forms, such 



2IO The Punishment of the Wicked. 

as pride, envy, jealousy, anger, revenge, avarice, am- 
bition, and beastly appetites, corrupts our moral na- 
ture, and torments our souls even while we live. In 
hell these evil propensities and wicked passions will 
naturally render the condition of the wicked incon- 
ceivably more wretched. There is nothing in the 
death of the body to prevent the death of the soul, 
but only to ensure the second death. It ends the 
season of probation, and deprives the wicked of 
the means of grace, so that they will only wax worse 
and worse in eternit}". They often make rapid 
strides in wickedness even in this world, where there 
are so many restraining influences. How fearful 
then is the abyss into which they plunge when they 
die ! It will not, indeed, be absolutely impossible for 
them to repent after death, but it will be absolutely 
certain that they will not. Having preferred sin to 
holiness all their lifetime, their choice will never be 
altered ; their characters will be fixed ; they will na- 
turally be wicked forever, and consequently forever 
miserable. 

Another source of misery to the wicked in hell will 
be the consciousness of guilt. This makes all more 
or less unhappy in this life. Who has not spent 
many unhappy moments in reflecting on his sins? A 
consciousness of moral imperfection or guilt, often 
makes the best of men very unhappy, especially if 
they are accu tomed to think how they must appear 
in the sight of Him who is of purer eyes than to be- 
hold evil, and who cannot look on iniquity. In many 
instances the misery which results from a conscious- 



The Punishment of the Wicked. 21 1 

ness of guilt is almost beyond endurance even in this 
world. It has led a great many to commit suicide. 
Jndas was so distressed with a sense of his guilt in be- 
traying Christ, that he went and hung himself. Yet 
he was not so much worse than many others. A 
great many have betrayed their Saviour for less than 
thirty pieces of silver. Persons, too, who have al- 
ways been remarkably amiable and upright, have in 
numerous instances been so convicted of their sinful- 
ness that they could not sleep and were in awful de- 
spair. Others are careless and unconcerned, partly 
because they do not consider how great their guilt is, 
and partly because they drown their convictions in 
worldly pursuits and pleasures. But after the judg- 
ment, it will be impossible to avoid conviction of sin ; 
and u the sting of death is sin." The consequences of 
sin travel on beyond the time when it is committed, 
and the same sins which to-day are disregarded or 
forgotten, afterwards occasion intense anguish. The 
scenes beyond the grave, especially, will naturally 
awaken conviction of sin in the minds of the wicked, 
so that when they awake at the resurrection, they 
will awake to shame and everlasting contempt. Then 
it will not require literal flames of fire to torment 
them. They will be in worse torments, when, in the 
light of eternity, they reflect on their sins, especially 
in despising the proffered grace of God, and reject- 
ing Christ as their Saviour. 

Again, the wicked will be miserable in hell because 
they will be the companions of the devil and his a?i- 
gels. It would be dreadful to live in some commu- 



2 1 2 The Punishment of the Wicked. 

nities in this world, in dens of vice such as may 
be found in large cities, where only oaths and blas- 
phemies are heard, and there is scarcely a vestige of 
virtue or morality. How dreadful it must have 
been to live in Sodom and Gomorrah ! The wicked 
even in this world are often a terror to each other. If 
they do not bite and devour one another, they have 
envyings, jealousies, hatred, and strife among them, 
so that they destroy each others peace and happi- 
ness. But it will be inconceivably more dreadful to 
be the companions of the devil and his angels. Worse 
than flames of fire will be the torments of wicked 
companions in the world of despair. 

Besides all this, the wicked in hell will be under 
the awful displeasure and curse of God. Even in 
this world, where His love and mercy are so abun- 
dantly displayed, He has also manifested His hatred 
of sin by His awful judgments. " He spared not 
the old world, except ]SToah and his family, bringing 
in the flood upon the world of the ungodly." " He 
rained fire and brimstone from heaven upon Sodom 
and Gomorrah." He has often sent wars, famines, 
and pestilences upon men for their wickedness, and 
He greatly afflicts even the righteous for their sins, as 
long as they live. Such calamities and afflictions are 
not generally regarded as manifesting God's hatred 
of sin, but according to the Bible such is their de- 
sign. Much more will the wicked be the objects of 
his awful displeasure and curse after the day of sal- 
vation shall be passed, and the great day of His 
wrath shall come. Then " they will call to the rnoun- 



The Punishment of the Wicked. 213 

tains and rocks, Fall on us, and bide us from the face 
of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath 
of the Lamb." 

Since, too, the wicked after the resurrection will 
have bodies, they will be liable to bodily sufferings 
for their sins, even greater than in this world, and it 
is no more improbable that what is written respecting 
the Lord Jesus being revealed from heaven with His 
mighty angels in flaming lire, taking vengeance on 
them that know not God and that obey not the Gos- 
pel of our Lord Jesus Christ, will be literally fulfilled, 
than it was that God would destroy the old world 
with the deluge, or Sodom and Gomorrah with fire 
and brimstone. As, also, sin naturally leads to bodi- 
ly sufferings in this life, causing pain, sickness, and 
death, so it may reasonably be inferred that it will 
be the occasion of greater bodily sufferings in eter- 
nity. This, indeed, is clearly implied in the passage 
of Scripture, " He that soweth to his flesh, shall of 
the flesh reap corruption." 

The punishment of the wicked, so dreadful in itself, 
will be eternal. " These shall go away into everlast- 
ing punishment." " Who shall be punished with 
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord 
and the glory of his power." "And the smoke of 
their torments ascendeth up forever and ever." It is 
true that such words as everlasting, eternal, and for- 
ever are sometimes limited in their meaning, but in 
all such cases they are applied to things that are 
known to be limited in their nature, and they gen- 
erally mean an endless duration, so that they should 



214 The Punishment of the Wicked. 

ahvavs be understood in this sense, unless their mean- 
ing is necessarily restricted by the nature of the sub- 
jects to which they are applied. The same words are 
used to express the duration of future punishment, 
and of future happiness. If they do not mean an 
endless duration in the one case, they do not in the 
other. If, too, they do not express it, the idea cannot 
possibly be expressed, and no truth is plainly taught 
in the Bible. But most of its readers always have 
understood it as plainly teaching that the future pun- 
ishment of the wicked will be endless, and it is not 
probable that so many have mistaken its meaning on 
this subject, and so few have discovered it, or that 
there ever will be any essential change in the pre- 
vailing belief, that everlasting punishment means in 
the Bible endless punishment as certainly as endless 
means endless. 

The principal reason given for limiting the mean- 
ing of such words as everlasting, eternal, and forever, 
as applied to the future punishment of the wicked, is 
that such punishment would be unjust and cruel. 
But this is presuming that the guilty are proper judges 
of themselves, and that the disclosures of the judg- 
ment day cannot deepen their convictions of sin. Be- 
sides, it is a very common impression that sinners do 
not, and never can deserve to be admitted into hea- 
ven, and that some of the wicked at least deserve, 
and always will deserve, more severe punishment 
than they suffer in this world. Most persons feel 
that the immoral and vicious, thieves, murderers, and 
Buch like persons, might justly be excluded from hea- 



The Punishment of the Wicked. 21$ 

ven forever. It is not unjust to treat the guilty dif- 
ferently from the innocent, and since sinners can 
never cease to be guilty, it can never be unjust to 
punish them. The degree of punishment, indeed, 
should be proportional to their guilt, and doubtless 
will be, but endless guilt, may jnstly be accompanied 
with endless punishment, and the greater the guilt, 
the more dreadful the punishment. 

It should be considered, also, that the wicked after 
death will never cease to he wicked, and therefore will 
deserve endless punishment. They will continue in 
sin, not indeed necessarily, but as certainly as they 
will continue to exist. The means of grace will no 
longer be employed, and the influences of the Holy 
Spirit will no longer be exerted ; nor is there any 
tendency in mere punishment to make sinners holy; 
therefore as represented in the Bible, they will be 
forever sinful, even more so than in this life, and con- 
sequently will be justly punished forever. 

To avoid this conclusion, some have adopted the 
opinion that the wicked will be annihilated at death, 
or after the final judgment, and perhaps still later, 
after suffering severe punishment for a very long 
period. Eternal death, it has been affirmed, means 
the opposite of eternal existence, and the everlasting 
destruction of the wicked will be nothing more than 
the extinction of their being forever in some dreadful 
manner, as by fire. This, too, has been called ever- 
lasting punishment, though there would be none left 
in existence to be punished. The idea is absurd. 
Who would have thought of calling annihilation, 



2i6 The Punishment of the Wicked. 

which might be effected in a moment, everlasting 
punishment, except for the purpose of reconciling a 
preconceived opinion with the language of Scripture ? 
It is evident that the wicked cannot be punished any- 
longer than they shall exist. Their everlasting pun- 
ishment necessarily involves their everlasting exist- 
ence. 

The goodness of God has been considered as incon- 
sistent with the endless punishment of the wicked. 
It is admitted, perhaps, that it is not inconsistent with 
the introduction of sin and misery for a limited 
period, but it is affirmed that they must not be allowed 
to prevail forever. It may often seem so ; but is it 
certain? Are there not abundant proofs of God's 
goodness in his works of creation and providence, also 
abundant proofs of his boundless compassion and 
mercy in the Gospel, though he threatens to punish 
the impenitent and unbelieving with everlasting des- 
truction ? The Gospel, indeed, is consistent only with 
the idea that men as sinners are justly exposed to 
such punishment, and that none can escape it except 
by repentance, and through faith in Christ as their 
only Saviour. Otherwise, there was no need of sal- 
vation, and Christ suffered and died in vain. 

The truth thus presented is indeed dreadful to con- 
template ; but there have been and are dreadful 
realities in life which should lead us to expect more 
dreadful realities to come, if we neglect the great 
salvation. Cities overthrown by earthquakes, or 
burned with fire ; wars, famines, and pestilences ; 
disease, pain, and death are dreadful, but they have 



The Punishment of the Wicked. 2 1 7 

prevailed ; so the future punishment of the wicked 
will be a reality, though inconceivably dreadful to 
suffer or even to contemplate. It is evidently neces- 
sary, since sin would otherwise be committed with 
very little restraint. Though holiness is more con- 
ducive to happiness than sin, there is not difference 
enough in this world to lead sinners to repentance. 
"What would be the effect of preaching that there is 
no future or eternal punishment, if all should believe 
it ? Though the theory of some is, that it would 
make men better by impressing them with a sense 
of God's infinite goodness, facts show that they des- 
pise his goodness if they have no fear of his justice, 
except as displayed in this world. As the welfare 
of society requires prisons for the punishment of 
criminals, so the greatest good of all moral being3 
requires the everlasting punishment of the wicked. 
Hence, though God has declared, " As I live I have 
no pleasure in the death of the wicked ;" though " He 
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten 
Son that w T hosoever believeth in him should not per- 
ish but have everlasting life," it is written, " He 
that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the 
wrath of God abideth on him." "And these shall 
go away into everlasting punishment." It is enough 
that there is a glorious salvation for all, and that the 
Gospel proclaims the message, " Believe on the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 



2 1 8 Future Happiness of Christians. 

THE FUTURE HAPPINESS OF CHRISTIANS. 

We have already considered that Christians at 
death immediately enter heaven, at the resurrection 
will appear with spiritual and glorious bodies, and 
at the judgment will stand on the right hand of the 
Judge among the righteous who shall enter into life 
eternal. " Then shall the righteous shine forth as 
the sun in the kingdom of their Father. 75 This leads 
us to consider their future happiness* 

Heaven itself, whether a place or only a state, h 
perfectly fitted to render holy beings happy. It is 
represented as & place, and since Christians will have 
bodies after their resurrection, there must be some 
place for their abode. It is represented as a city 
whose walls are jasper, the gates pearls, and the 
streets pure gold as it were transparent glass, " And 
the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon 
to shine in it, for the glory of God lightens it, and 
the Lamb is the light thereof Our best concep- 
tions of what such a description means are, of course, 
very vague and imperfect, and may be in many re- 
spects false, but the reality will far surpass them. 
Our conjectures respecting heaven may, or may not ? , 
lie altogether vain, but. thev are unreal, because the 

~ 7 «/ 7 

real heaven is inconceivable. We can better con- 
ceive of some things pertaining to it than of the 
place, because that we have never seen, but of these 
we may have a foretaste on earth. 

The happiness of Christians in heaven will be de- 
rived partly from their superior intelligence. Now 
their minds are clogged by their weak, frail, and 



Future Happiness of Christians. 219 

decaying bodies, and the circumstances in which 
they live are unfavorable to their mental growth. 
Though a few are distinguished for superior intellects 
and great learning, the mass of mind lies in a great 
measure dormant, and is degraded with sin. In 
heaven every thing will be favorable to the full de- 
velopment of their minds, and as soon as they enter 
that world of light their intellectual powers will be 
enlarged and rapidly expand, so that they will be- 
come vastly superior to what they are in this world. 

One thing which will effect such a change in their 
minds will be their increased and more perfect 
knowledge of God. " Now they see through a glass 
darkly, but then face to face ; now they know in part, 
but then they will know even as they are known." 
"This is life eternal, to know God and Jesus Christ 
whom He hath sent." Thus they will soon become 
far superior to any in this world who are distin- 
guished for their intellectual powers and attainments. 
As, also, they increase in the knowledge of God and 
spiritual things, their happiness will increase, and 
they will delight more and more in the contempla- 
tion of the Infinite One and the study of His works, 
especially the mystery of redemption. 

Another source of happiness in heaven will be 
perfect holiness. u The path of the just is as the 
shining light, that shineth more and more unto the 
perfect day." Now their light is beclouded or min- 
gled with Ihe darkness of sin, then it will be like the 
sun shining in full splendor at noon. When they 
shall be delivered from the control of their depraved 



220 Future Happiness of Christians. 

bodily appetites and passions, their souls already re- 
newed, also hungering and thirsting after righteous- 
ness will be filled, and they will be free from all im- 
perfection, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, 
and holy as the angels. They will have washed their 
robes, and made them white and clean in the blood 
of the Lamb. This is the highest source of happi- 
ness to moral beings, and their greatest glory. God 
is glorious in holiness and blessed for ever, and so 
will Christians be in heaven so far as they shall be 
like Him. 

The chief source of happiness to Christians in 
heaven will be communion with God. To others this 
means very little. They have less desire for it than 
savages have for enlightened and refined society. 
But to Christians it is sweet even on earth, the source 
of their purest and most satisfactory enjoyment. Yet 
it is very imperfect here compared with what it will 
be in heaven. Many things, especially their remain- 
ing sinfulness prevents them from ever enjoying it 
fully, and it is often interrupted. u Oh, for a closer 
walk with God ! " expresses their longing for such 
communion with Him as they hope to enjoy in hea- 
ven. The foretaste of this which they sometimes 
have in drawing near to God in His sanctuary or in 
secret, is a pledge of far sweeter and purer joy in 
His presence above. 

God in Christ will be the object of supreme delight 
to Christians in heaven. He is precious to them 
now. "Whom having not seen, ye love ; in whom 
though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice 



Future Happiness of Christians. 221 

with joy unspeakable and full of glory." It will 
be far better to depart and be with Christ, to see 
Him as He is, to dwell with Him. An affectionate wife 
is most happy with her husband. When absent she 
longs to be with him. So the bride, the Lamb's wife, 
will rejoice when she shall go to take up her abode 
with Him for ever. 

In heaven, also, Christians will enjoy the society 
of holy angels and the redeemed. The society of 
esteemed friends on earth is a source of great sat- 
isfaction and pleasure. Especially, how delightful 
it would be if there were no selfishness and sin to 
embitter human happiness ! If all men were holy, 
how much would the joy of social life be increased ! 
It would be like heaven on earth. In heaven, such 
social enjoyment will be experienced. Christians 
will there associate with holy angels and with the 
redeemed from among men, with the patriarchs, pro- 
phets, apostles, and all who shall be judged faithful. 
The best society on earth is not worthy to be com- 
pared with that of celestial beings ; and the com- 
pany of angels, and the redeemed in heaven will be 
most delightful — beyond the power of language to 
express or the imagination to conceive. 

An additional source of enjoyment to Christians 
in heaven will be their employments. Though they 
will enter into that rest which remains for the peo- 
ple of God, it will only be rest from the cares and 
turmoils of life, from toil and fatigue, from trouble, 
disquietude, pain, and sorrow. They will not be in- 
active, but constantly and pleasantly employed in 



222 Future Happiness of Christians. 

whatever will best promote the glory of God, and 
their own highest good or that of others. 

They will be directly employed, more or less,, in 
the worship of God. This is a source of great satis- 
faction and pleasure to them in this world, though 
imperfectly rendered, so that they are often prompted 
to say, " A day in thy courts is better than a thou- 
sand : I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of 
my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness." 
How much more delightful will it be to unite with 
the angels and saints above who worship Him that 
liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before 
the throne, saying, " Thou art .worthy, O Lord, to 
receive glory, and honor, and power, for thou hast 
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and 
were created." 

But it should not be supposed that the inhabitants 
of heaven are only engaged in the worship of God. 
They doubtless have various other employments in 
doing His will. As intelligent beings capable of ac- 
quiring knowledge without limit, they will naturally 
be thus employed in eternity. There will be enough 
to study. The nature and character of God, of whom 
they now know so little, and desire to know so much, 
but whom they can never know perfectly, they will 
study with ever-increasing satisfaction and delight as 
they shall make new discoveries of His power, wis- 
dom, and goodness. The history of redemption by 
Christ will be an exhaustless theme of contempla- 
tion. They will, also, learn with wonder, gratitude 
and praise, what they understand so imperfectly in 



Future Happiness of Christians. 223 

this world, the benevolent purposes of God in His 
providential dispensations in respect to themselves 
and others. While, too, they become familiar with 
the history of God's government on earth, which 
will chiefly interest them instead of the written his- 
tory of kings and nations, their knowledge will 
probably be extended to other worlds at which as- 
tronomers gaze with so much vain curiosity through 
telescopes, and the history of them, numberless as 
the sands on the sea-shore, will ever occupy and 
interest their minds. 

But, as may be reasonably inferred, Christians in 
heaven will be chiefly engaged in doing good. This 
is their appropriate work on earth, and God himself 
has always been and always will be doing good. " It 
is more blessed to give than to receive." It is better 
to do good than to receive good from others. Mutual 
good-will and kindness exhibited in action, love ex- 
pressing itself in good deeds, is the crowning glory 
of intelligent and moral beings, and the source of 
their highest happiness. How much, or how long 
the inhabitants of heaven will be engaged in re- 
claiming the miserable and lost as in this world, is 
uncertain, but there will always be ways and oppor- 
tunities for doing good. If all within their sphere 
of action are holy, happy, and secure from evil, 
yet it will be possible, by mutual good deeds, to con- 
tribute to and increase each others happiness. In- 
deed the happiness of holy beings must consist 
chiefly in the good which each one does to others. 

All this is only a glimpse of the future happiness 



224 Future Happiness of Christians. 

of Christians in heaven. Language fails to give 
more than an obscure view of it. We should, there- 
fore, consider it as far superior to any descriptions, 
inconceivably great and glorious. There are, also, 
some considerations which are fitted to make it 
appear still more desirable. 

One is, that it will satisfy the most enlarged desires 
of the soul. "Blessed are they that hunger and 
thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." 
" I shall be satisfied^ said the Psalmist, " when I 

awake in tliv likeness." In this world there is noth- 

«/ 

ing satisfactory. The greatest amount of temporal 
good, if secured, would leave an aching void in the 
soul. The world cannot fill it. But Christians in 
heaven will be satisfied. They will be no more dis- 
contented or pine for more substantial good. All that 
they can desire they will then enjoy. 

The happiness of Christians in heaven will also 
be everlasting. "All flesh is grass, and all the glory 
of man as the flower of grass. The grass witheretE, 
and the flower thereof falleth away." In this world 
every thing is uncertain and changeable. Those 
who now stand on the pinnacle of fame may to-mor- 
row be stripped of their honors; or those who enjoy 
the greatest prosperity may very soon be reduced to 
poverty and want. " But the word of the Lord en- 
dureth for ever," and the happiness of heaven will 
be everlasting. After myriads of ages shall have 
rolled away, the righteous will still shine forth as the 
sun in the kingdom of their Father. " Beholding*" 
too, " as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, they will be 



God Glorified. 225 

changed into the same image from glory to glory," 
ever increasing in holiness and happiness. 

GOD GLOKIFIED. 

" The heavens declare the glory of God." This is 
seldom doubted, and can never be disproved. His 
glory shines every where, only it is greatly obscured 
where sin prevails. Sinners impeach His goodness, 
and even doubt and deny His existence, chiefly be- 
cause He has permitted them to sin, and visited their 
sins with tokens of His displeasure. But it has appeared, 
and will more clearly appear hereafter, that sinners 
only are responsible for their sins, and that God 
would have been glorified if He had condemned 
them all to everlasting destruction. But He has glo- 
rified Himself still more by displaying His infinite 
mercy in the redemption of mankind, in so loving 
the world that He gave His only begotten Son that 
whosoever believeth in Him might not perish but 
have everlasting life, assuming a human nature that 
He might suffer and die, the just for the unjust; also 
through the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit in 
renewing and sanctifying those who are heirs of sal- 
vation. It is true the fallen angels and impenitent 
men have been left to suffer the just punishment of 
sin, but what He has done to save sinners clearly 
proves that He has no pleasure in their death, and 
has been compelled, in the one case by a regard for 
His holy law, and in the other by their own rejection 
of His proffered grace, to condemn them to hell fur 
ever. Yet the prison of despair is small compared 



226 God Glorified. 

with the vast universe which He governs, and is onlv 
designed to guard holy beings against sin, and to con- 
firm them in their allegiance to the King of kings 
and the Lord of lords. Every where outside of the 
world of eternal woe there will be joy throughout 
the vast, and for aught we know, infinite universe, 
springing from the Infinite Source of all good. Oh, 
the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and 
knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are His 
judgments and His ways past finding out. For who 
hath known the mind of the Lord ? or who hath 
been His counsellor ? Or who hath first given to Him, 
and it shall be recompensed to Him again ? For of 
Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things, 
to whom be glory for ever. Amen. 



INDEX OP PROOF TEXTS. 



[The references are arranged in the order of the sub- 
jects and the quotations on each page.] 

Existence of God.— [Page 11.] Rom. 1:20 ; Heb. 3:4 ; Ps. 19:1. 

The Bible the Word of God.— [P. 20.] Ps. 90: 2 ; 1 Kings 8:27; 
Ps. 139:7; 1 Chron. 28:9; 1 John 1:5; 4:8; Isa. 6:3; Rev. 15:3; 
Ps. 103:13; [p. 22.] Acts 16:30; [p. 25.] Luke 16:15; Matk. 
22:37, 39 ; Luke 6:31. [P. 33.] Prophecy— Gen. 3:15 ; Isa. 9:6 ; 
53:5 ; [p. 34.] 2 Pet. 1:20, 21 ; Ps. 8:3 ; 102:25. 

Nature and Character of God. — [P. 37.] Isa. 45 : 5 ; Ex. 20 : 3. 
"Christ-John 1 : 1 ; 10 : 33, 30 ; 5 : 23 ; 2 : 24 ; Heb. 1 : 3. [P. 40.] 
Holy Spirit— John 4 : 24. Eternal— [p. 41.] Ps. 90 : 2 ; 102 : 26, 27. 
Omnipotent— [p. 42.] Ps. 33:6, 9; Acts 17:25; Isa. 40:15; 
26 : 4 ; Ps. 33 : 10 ; Prov. 21 : 1 ; Ps. 76 : 10. Omniscient— [p. 44.] 
Acts 15 : 18 ; Ps. 94 : 9 ; Heb. 4 : 13 ; Ps. 139 : 1. Omnipresent— 
[p. 45.] Ps. 139 : 7 ; Jer. 23 : 23, 24. Unchangeable— [p. 45.] Heb. 
13 : 8. Holy— Isa. 6:3; Hab. 1 : 13 ; Job 15 : 15 ; Rom. 1 : 18. 
Good— [p. 51.] Heb. 12 : 8 ; Ps. 68 : 19 ; 33 : 5 ; 34 : 8 ; 145 : 9. 
Merciful— [p. 52.] John 3 : 16. True and Faithful— 1 Sam. 15 : 29 ; 
Isa. 25 : 1 ; Ps. 119 : 90. 

Purposes of God.— [P. 54.] Job 23:13; Isa. 46:10; Acts 
15 : 18. 

Providence of God.— [P. 57.] Math. 6:26-30; Prov. 16:9; 
Acts 17 : 10. 

Moral Responsibility.— [P. 62.] Eccl. 3 : 17 ; Jer. 17 : 10 ; Math. 

22 : 37 ; Rom. 13 : 10. 

227 



228 Index. 

Angels.— [P. 63.] Bev. 4: 8 ; 1 : 16 ; 10:1 ; [p. 61] Heb. 1:14; 
1 Pet 1 : 12 ; [p. 66.] 1 Tim. 3 : 6. 

Man, Creation of— [p. 69.] Gen. 1 : 27. Temptation and Fall- 
Gen. 2 : 16 ; [p. 71.] Rom. 5 : 12 ; [p. 73.] Horn. 5 : 12, 18, 19 ; 
[p. 74.] Ez. 18 :4 ; Rom. 5 :19, 20 ; [p. 76.] Job 21 : 15 ; Rom. 

8 : 7 ; Is. 1 : 2 ; Rom. 3:23; [p. 80.] Job 5 : 7 ; Isa. 57 : 20. Self- 
Justification— [p. 82.] James 2 : 10 ; [p. 83.] Gal. 3 : 10 ; [p. 84.] 
Isa. 1 : 11-15 ; Job 9 : 7. 

Atonement.— [P. 86.] Heb. 9 : 14 ; [p. 90.] John 3 :16 ; 1 John 
4 : 10 ; Rom. 5:8; Rom. 8 : 1 ; 5 : 1 ; [p. 91.] 1 John 2 : 2 ; 1 Tim. 
2:6; Heb. 2 : 9. 

Intercession.— [P. 92.] Heb. 9:24; 7:25, 26; Job. 9:23; 
[p. 94.] John 17 : 15 ; Luke 22 : 31 ; [p. 95.] 1 John 2:1; Heb. 

9 : 27 ; Rom. 8 : 24 ; John 17 : 9 ; [p. 96.] Heb. 10 : 19 ; 4 : 14. 

Salvation for all.— [P. 96.] Mark 16 : 15 ; [p. 97.] Math. 11:28 ; 
John 7 : 37 ; Rev. 22 : 17. 

Election.— [P. 99.] Luke 18 : 7 ; Rom. 8 : 33 ; Col. 3 : 12 ; 1 Pet 
1:2; Rom. 9 : 11 ; 11 : 7 ; 1 Tkess. 1:4; 2 Pet. 1:10; [p. 103.] 

Rom. 9 : 18. 

Influences of the Holy Spirit. — [P. 105.] Gen. 6 : 3 ; Acts 
7 : 51 ; Joel 2 : 28 ; John 16 : 7 ; Rom. 5 : 5 ; 8 : 14, 26 ; [p. 106.] 
John 6 : 63 ; Zech, 4:6; John 3:8; [p. 107.] 1 Thess. 5 :19 ; 
Eph. 4 : 30 ; Luke 11 : 19. 

Regeneration.— [P. 107.] John 3 : 3, 5, 7 ; [p. 108.] Ez. 11 : 19 ; 
Titus 3:5; Col. 2:13; [p. 109.] John 1:13; [p. 113.] Epb. 
6 : 17 ; Heb. 4 : 12. 

Faith.— [P. 116.] 1 Cor. 2 : 14 ; 2 Cor. 4 : 4, 6 ; [p. 121.] Gal. 
2:20; 2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 11 : 6 ; John 3:36; Mark 16:16; 
Acts 16 : 31. 

Justification by Faith. — [P. 125.] Rom. 5:5; Gal. 5:22; 
Uohn4:7. 



Index. 229 

Love to God.— [P. 128.] John 5 : 42 ; Rom. 5:5; Gal. 5 : 22 ; 
1 John 4 : 7. 

Repentance.— [P. 131.] 2 Cor. 7:10; [p. 132.] Math. 3:2; 
Luke 13 : 6 ; Math. 9 : 13 ; Jer. 13 : 23 ; 2 Cor. 6:2; Isa. 55 : 7 ; 
[p. 133.] Ps. 51:1. 

Humility.— [P. 134.] Ps. 8:4; Isa. 6 : 5. 

Prayer.— [P. 135.] Math. 6:9; [p. 138.] Math. 7 : 7, 11 ; Isa. 
65 : 24 ; James 5 : 16 ; [p. 139.] Jer. 10 : 25 ; Math. 18 : 19 ; [p. 140.] 
1 John 5 : 14, 15. 

Sanctification.— [P. 145.] Prov. 4 : 18 ; [p. 146.] 2 Cor. 3 : 18 ; 
7 : 1 ; 1 Thess. 4 : 3 ; 2 Pet. 3 : 18 ; Math. 5 : 48 ; John 17 : 17 ; 
[p. 147.] Heb. 12 : 6 ; 2 Cor. 4 : 17 ; Ps. 119 : 67 ; [p. 148.] Phil. 
3 : 12 ; 1 John 1:8; Eccl. 7 : 20. 

Perseverance.— [P. 150.] John 5:24; 10:27; 6:47; Math. 
13:23; [p. 151.] Horn. 8 : 30, 39; 1 Pet. 1:5; Heb. 6:4, 9; 
1 John 2 : 19 ; Math. 7 : 22 ; 10 : 20. 

Christian Privileges. — [P. 154.] Rom. 8:1; 5:1; [p. 156.] 
GaL 4 : 5, 6 ; Eph. 1 : 1-5 ; 1 John 3 : 1, 2 ; Gal. 4 : 7 ; 1 John 1:3; 
John 14 : 7 ; [p. 157.] Gen. 28 : 17 ; Ps. 73 : 28 ; James 4 : 8 ; Ps. 
63:2; [p. 158.] 1 Pet, 1 : 3, 4, 5. 

Baptism.— [P. 159.] Math. 28 : 19 ; [p. 160.] Acts 19 : 4 ; [p. 161.] 
Rom. 2 : 28, 29 ; [p. 162.] Math. 19 : 14. 

Lord's Supper.— [P. 164.] Luke 22 : 19 ; 1 Cor. 11 : 26. 

Sabbath.— [P. 167.] Ex. 20 : 8 ; [p. 170.] Isa. 56 : 2 ; Ez. 22 : 8 ; 
[p. 172.] Isa. 58:13. 

Worship.— [P. 175.] Ps. 122:1; 84:10; Acts 1:14; 2:42; 
Col. 3 : 16 ; Ps. Ill : 1 ; Acts 11 : 26 ; 13 : 24. 

Millennium.— [P. 181.] Rev. 20 : 4 ; Gen. 22 : 18 ; Ps. 2:7, 8 ; 
72 : 8, 11 ; Is. 2 : 2, 4 : 11 : 6, 9 ; Jer. 31 : 34 ; Rev. 14 : 6. 



230 Index. 

Probation.— [P. 186.] Gal. 6 : 7, 8 ; [p. 189.] 2 Cor. 6 :2 ; Ps. 
95 : 8 ; John 9:4; Eccl. 9 : 10 ; Rev. 22 : 11. 

Immortality.— [P. 196.] Eccl. 12 : 7 ; Job 14 : 14 ; Ps. 17 : 15 
Prov. 14:32; Ps. 37:37; 16:30; Dan. 12:2; 2 Tim. 1:10 
Math. 10:28; 22:32; [p. 197.] 2 Cor. 5:1,8; 2 Tim. 4:7 
Rev. 14 : 13. 

Intermediate State. — [P. 198.] Luke 16 :22. 

Resurrection.— [P. 199.] 1 Cor. 15:13, 18; [p. 200.] John 
5 : 28, 29 ; 11 : 25 ; Acts 23 : 6 ; 24 : 15 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 21 ; 1 Thess. 
4 : 14, 16 ; Rev. 20 : 12 ; [p. 201.] 1 Cor. 15 : 42, 43, 44, 50-55. 

Judgment.— [P. 203.] Math. 25 : 31 ; Rev. 20 : 12 ; Rom. 14 : 12 ; 
Heb. 9 : 27 ; Eccl. 3 : 17 ; Rom. 14 : 10. 

Future Punishment.— [P. 206.] Math. 25 :46, 41 ; 8 : 12 ; Ps. 
9 : 17 ; 2 Thess. 1:9; Rev. 20 : 15 ; 14 : 11 ; [p. 207.] Heb. 12 : 14 ; 
Rev. 21: 27 ; Math. 7 : 23 ; Luke 13 : 28 ; Ps. 9 : 17 ; [p. 209.] Prov. 
14:32; Rev. 22:11; [p. 213.] Math. 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:9; 
Rev. 14 : 11. 

Future Happiness.— [P. 218.] Math. 13:43; Rev. 21:23; 
[p. 219.] 2 Cor. 13:12; John 17:3; Prov. 4:18; [p. 224.] 
Math. 5 : 6. 



QUESTIONS. 



[The answers should be full, including the leading 
ideas on the particular subject or topic under considera- 
tion. Parents and teachers should ask other questions.] 

Theology. — (Page 9.) What is Theology ? Why important ? 

God. — Has some idea of God always been prevalent? What is 
the simplest idea of such a Being ? On what does the credibility 
of truths respecting God depend ? Is mathematical proof to be 
expected ? Is absolute certainty to be required ? What reasons 
are sufficient for believing such truths ? Can truth be doubted ? 
Why are truths respecting God often doubted ? 

Existence of God. — (P. 10.) Why is the idea of God an evi- 
dence of his existence ? Why is the general belief of mankind an 
evidence? (P. 11.) From what are the most satisfactory proofs 
derived? What passages are quoted with reference to it? and 
why are they appropriate apart from the idea of their inspiration ? 
Why should we not believe that uncreated matter has always 
existed? (P. 12.) What are proofs of the existence of mind dis- 
tinct from matter ? of the infinite Mind — God ? How are we wit- 
nesses of God's existence ? Can a child learn this ? How does a 
statue illustrate it? (P. 13.) In what respects are our bodies 
proofs of it ? How are such proofs multiplied ? in the eye ?4Hus- 
trated by the telescope? other members of the body? (P. 14.) 
How do our minds prove the existence of the Divine Mind? 
What are the evidences around us ? (P. 15. ) How multiplied ? 
What are the evidences seen in the heavens — the vast universe ? 
(P. 16.) What verse is quoted to express the conviction that there 
is a God ? Why is this truth the source of great satisfaction to 
many? of great comfort? peace? consolation? joy? (P. 17.) 
What hath the fool said in his heart ? What should we say ? 

231 



232 Questions. 

The Bible the Word of God. — (P. 18.) Why important to 
know? 

Inspiration. — On what does the authority of the Bible chiefly 
depend ? What is Inspiration ? Apart from it, does the Bible 
claim our belief? Why ? (P. 19.) Do we need to inquire in what 
respects or how the Bible was first inspired ? Was inspiration 
desirable ? why ? possible ? why ? probable ? why ? What kinds 
of evidences are there that the Bible is inspired ? What are Inter- 
nal Evidences ? External ? 

Internal Evidences. — (P. 20.) Why could not the Bible have 
been written by inspired men ? How does the knowledge of God 
derived from the Bible prove its inspiration ? [Bepeat the pas- 
sages quoted.] (P. 21.) The plan of salvation? justification by 
faith ? (p. 22.) regeneration and sanctification by the Holy Spirit ? 
(p. 23.) the resurrection of the body, the judgment, and the 
future state of the righteous and the wicked ? its spirit ? (p. 24. ) 
its perfect standard of morality? (p. 25.) the religion it teaches 
and cherishes? (p. 26.) its adaptation to our spiritual wants? 
(p. 27.) the only worthy end of existence it reveals ? 

External Evidences. — (P. 28.) How does it appear that Bibli- 
cal History is true apart from inspiration ? What has been the 
prevailing opinion of the best judges ? (P. 29.) Who are some of 
them ? What writers are mentioned who have collected abundant 
evidences of the truth and inspiration of the Bible ? Why were 
not the writers of the Bible deceived ? Why must the New Testa- 
ment have been written at the time specified and by the writers 
named ? Why could they not have been impostors ? (P. 30. ) 
What were the principal facts they related? Could they have 
believed such facts if false ? Could they have persuaded others to 
believe them ? How does the existence of churches prove the 
truths of the Gospel ? How do the Lord's Supper and Christian 
Sabbath confirm the death and resurrection of Christ ? 

Miracles. — (P. 31.) How does the resurrection of Christ con- 
firm the other miracles of the New Testament ? Are such miracles 
proofs of the truths taught ? Does the New Testament confirm 
the Old Testament ? 

Prophecy. — (P. 32.) Could uninspired men have predicted such 
events as were predicted in the Bible long before they were ful- 



Questions. 233 

filled ? "What is written respecting the Jews ? how long ago ? how 
fulfilled ? (P. 33. ) What was written respecting Christ ? how ful- 
filled ? (P. 34.) Do the Scriptures claim to be inspired? Repeat 
the passages quoted. How are the truths of the Bible confirmed 
by science (Geology, Astronomy) ? by antiquarian researches, 
ancient rui.ns, etc. ? (P. 35.) Are errors in copies and translations 
inconsistent with the inspiration of the Bible ? By whom have 
they been guarded against ? Do they essentially affect the mean- 
ing ? How, then, should the Bible be regarded ? 

The Natuke and Character or God. — (P. 37.) Is there more 
than one God ? What answer does reason give ? Repeat the pas- 
sages of Scripture quoted. Does the Bible reveal God as in some 
respects different Persons? their names? (p. 38.) in what respects 
as the Father ? Why should we believe that Christ is God ? 
(P. 39.) Why is the Holy Spirit to be regarded as God? (P. 40.) 
What is God? [Answer given in the Catechism.] What is He, 
as a spirit ? In what respects is He like us ? Why are bodily 
members ascribed to Him ? What belongs to Him as a Spirit ? 
Why should we believe that God is eternal ? (p. 41.) omnipotent? 
in respect to physical, (p. 42.) moral and spiritual power? (p. 43.) 
omniscient? including the foreknowledge of human thoughts and 
volitions? (p. 44.) omnipresent? (p. 45.) unchangeable? What 
are such attributes of God called? (P. 46.) What are his moral 
perfections ? What is God called to express his moral character ? 
Explain how love includes holiness, justice, goodness, etc. ? Why 
should we believe that God is holy? (p. 47.) just? (p. 48.) good? 
(p. 51.) merciful? (p. 52.) true and faithful? 

Purposes. — (P. 53.) Why should we believe that God has pur- 
poses? that they are eternal? (p. 54.) extend to every person and 
all things ? Are difficulties and objections inconsistent with them ? 
Do they compel men to be holy or sinful ? (P. 55.) Do they inter- 
fere with the free agency of moral beings like men ? How may we 
learn what some of the purposes of God are ? What seems to be 
his chief purpose ? For what does the material universe seem to 
be designed ? 

Providence of God. — (P. 55.) What is meant by the Providence 
of God ? What are some of the different opinions of men respect- 
ing it ? (P. 56.) Which includes the idea of a general Providence ? 



234 Questions. 

which, of a particular Providence ? Can there be a general Provi- 
dence without a particular Providence ? In what respects does a 
particular Providence honor God ? (P. 57. ) Repeat the passages 
of Scripture which are quoted to prove the Providence of God, 
What instances related in the Bible illustrate this truth? (P. 58.) 
What common objection is urged ? What is a sufficient answer ? 

The Moral Government of God. — (P. 59.) What is it? What 
are moral beings ? how distinguished from animals ? What chiefly 
constitutes a moral being ? What is the character of all moral 
beings ? By what is it determined ? When is any one holy ? 
when sinful ? Are there different degrees of holiness or sinfulness ? 
Why? (P. 60.) To whom are all accountable ? Why is this right 
and just ? How does it appear ? [Let the answer include what is 
said respecting the moral sense — the condition of the world with- 
out it — the passages of Scripture quoted.] (P. 62.) What is re- 
quired of all moral beings V How has the will of God been made 
known ? What comprehends it ? 

Holy Angels. — (P. 62.) What was the character of all moral 
beings when first created ? What have we been taught respecting 
the number of holy angels ? (p. 63. ) their superiority ? their power 
and activity ? (p. 64. ) their acquaintance with human affairs ? 
How should the knowledge of such beings be regarded by us ? 
and influence us ? 

Fallen Angels. — (P. 65.) What does the Bible teach respecting 
the fallen angels? their number? their Chief? Have we been 
taught how they became sinful? (P. 66.) Is God the Author of 
sin ? Where must it have originated ? Are all finite moral beings 
liable to sin? why? Do we know that there could have been a 
wiser and better moral government without any sin ? What should 
we infer from the existence of sin ? Is it certain that holy beings 
are not properly exposed to temptations ? Do not many things 
which are sources of temptation contribute to the highest perfec- 
tion of moral beings ? (P. 67.) What is the influence of tempta- 
tion when overcome ? Would it have been better if God had not 
permitted the angels to be tempted ? Though tempted, were they 
compelled to sin ? What is the influence of the knowledge of evil 
as the consequence of sin ? (P. 68. ) Do we know that God could 
have created moral beings so that none would have sinned, except 



Questions. 235 

very inferior beings? May sin be overruled for the greatest 
good? Would it have been better if God had not created any 
moral beiugs or only very inferior beings ? Was sin necessary? 
How does God evidently regard it? Who is responsible for it? 
Is it any evidence against the wisdom, goodness or holiness 
of God ? 

Ciieation of Man. — (P. 69.) What does the Bible teach respect- 
ing the creation of man ? like whom ? where placed ? for what pur- 
pose ? What was he forbidden to do ? why probably ? (P. 70. ) 
Was he unjustly exposed to temptation ? Was the temptation too 
great ? Were Adam and Eve compelled to sin ? Did any eternal 
decree of God render it necessary for them to eat the forbidden 
fruit ? What, if they had resisted the temptation ? (P. 71. ) What 
was the result of their temptation ? Repeat the passages quoted 
from the Bible : also from Paradise Lost. What was the character 
and state of our first parents after they first sinned ? How were 
they changed? Was this the death of which they were fore- 
warned ? What is it often called ? (P. 72. ) Does the proper 
penalty of sin include sinfulness ? Is there a natural connection 
between one sinful act and succeeding acts ? What often results ? 
What other consequences followed the sin of our first parents ? 

The Sinfulness of Men in consequence of the Fall. — (P. 72.) 
Are all men sinful ? How is sin regarded by some ? by others ? 
(P. 73.) How did the fall of our first parents affect their posterity? 
What passages are quoted from the Bible to prove this ? Is sin- 
fulness inherited more certainly than diseases, etc. ? What con- 
troversy has there been respecting the guilt of Adam's sin ? owing 
chiefly to what ? (P. 74. ) Can we be guilty of it as we are of our 
own sins ? Kepeat the passages of Scripture quoted with refer- 
ence to* it ? Are any compelled to sin ? Is all sin voluntary ? 
Would it have been better if each one had been put on trial for 
himself ? Why not ? 

ZsIen naturally destitute of Holiness. — (P. 75.) Are men na- 
turally destitute of holiness? Do all possess many good qualities? 
Are many highly virtuous and useful ? What is the distinction 
between morality or virtue and holiness ? Illustration. (P. 76. ) 
In what respects are men destitute of holiness ? Quotations from 
the Bible. Of what particular sins are all men naturally guilty ? 



236 Questions. 

Are they apt to be conscious of them ? Why not ? (P. 77. ) How 
do they naturally feel towards God as revealed in the Bible rightly 
understood ? What have many said of such a Being ? What does 
the history of mankind prove ? the heathen ? the Jews ? Atheists 
and Infidels ? Sabbath desecration ? profanity ? gross vices and 
crimes? (P. 78.) Even in respect to virtue and morality, what 
are men naturally ? Are the heathen naturally worse than others? 
Quotations from Scripture. 

Natubal and Penal Consequences of Sin. — (P. 78.) What does 
sin produce? in what forms? (P. 79.) Is this apt to be realized? 
What were the natural consequences of sin to our first parents ? 
(p. 80.) what are they to all? how mitigated? Will it be so 
always ? 

Self-justification Impossible. — (P. 81.) What is Justification 
with God? How are holy beings justified? How can sinners be 
justified ? Do men often attempt to justify themselves ? How did 
Adam ? Eve ? how do some now ? others ? Why are not such ex- 
cuses sufficient ? (P. 82.) Do men accept of them from others? 
What is another method of self-justification ? Why is it difficult ? 
Quotations of Scripture. Is it admissible in human governments ? 
(P. 83. ) Illustration ? Why much less on the part of sinners ? 
Quotations of Scripture. What method of self-justification is next 
considered ? Whence was the idea probably derived ? how per- 
verted ? What religious observances are much relied on ? (P. 84. ) 
Quotations of Scripture referring to them. What is the plea for 
justice ? Is it satisfactory to most persons ? Is it the common 
impression received from the Bible ? (P. 85.) What is the plea 
for mercy alone ? why not satisfactory ? for justice in part and 
mercy in part ? why unsatisfactory ? 

The Atonement. — (P, 86.) What is an atonement? The atone- 
ment ? When did God purpose it ? the first intimation of it ? how 
foreshadowed ? Quotation of Scripture referring to it ? Has its 
necessity been felt? Hence originated, what? (P. 87.) Whence 
has arisen the impression of its necessity ? Why was it necessary ? 
On what principle of justice was it made ? Illustration. How 
does it fulfill its design ? (P. 88. ) In what consists the efficacy of 
the atonement ? Did the blood of bulls and goats atone for sin ? 
If Christ is not God as well as man, could he have made an atone- 



Questions. 237 

merit ? Why is the divinity of Christ an essential truth of the 
Gospel ? How should the sufferings and death of Christ as the 
Son of God be regarded ? Why is such an atonement sufficient ? 
How does Abraham's readiness to sacrifice Isaac illustrate the love 
of God in the sacrifice of his Son? (P. 89.) How did the atone- 
ment display both the justice and the mercy of God? How shall 
we answer the objection that the future punishment of sinners 
would be unjust ? Or that God is unmerciful if he designs to 
inflict it ? (P. 90. ) Quotations of Scripture expressing his love. 
For whom is the atonement efficacious ? Are they justified by it ? 
Quotations of Scripture. Are all justified by Christ ? Why not ? 
How does unbelief affect the guilt of sinners ? Quotation of Scrip- 
ture referring to such. (P. 91. ) Is the atonement limited or un- 
limited ? Will all be saved by it ? Is it sufficient for all ? Is it 
designed for all, so that all might be saved by it ? Quotations of 
Scripture. 

Christ's Intercession. — (P. 91.) How typified? Quotations of 
Scripture referring to it. (P. 92.) Why necessary ? Illustration. 
Quotations of Scripture showing its necessity. (P. 93. ) Illustra- 
tions. Who feel their need of it ? why necessary since an atone- 
ment has been made? (P. 91.) How does Christ make interces- 
sion ? Illustrations. (P. 95. ) In what respects is Christ the only 
intercessor? How should the intercession of the ancient High 
Priest be regarded? the Virgin Mary and departed saints? Chris- 
tians ? For whom is intercession made ? (P. 96. ) Quotations of 
Scripture on the subject. 

Salvation free to ale. — (Pp. 96, 97. ) Quotations of Scripture 
offering salvation. Is such an offer sincere ? What reasons have 
been suggested for doubting its sincerity ? Why are they false ? 

Election. — (P. 98. ) What remark is first made ? What is 
Election ? (P. 99.) Quotations of Scripture which teach it. Why 
should none complain of it ? Does it prevent any from being 
saved ? What only prevents them ? In what respects is it unlike 
the election of a governor, etc. ? (P. 100. ) When was the election 
made ? Is there any reason to suppose that it would have been 
different if it had been delayed ever so long ? Why not ? Does it 
compel some to choose and others to refuse salvation ? Has it any 
influence in determining a person's choice ? Is it right that it 



238 Questions. 

should be so? (P. 101.) Do other things influence us? the 
country in which we were born? the community or family in 
which we live, etc. ? Does God control everything ? Does he ever 
exert bad influences? May he for wise reasons permit them to be 
exerted ? Does he ever exert good influences on some and not on 
others, or cause them to be exerted ? Does he thus save some and 
not others ? Does he choose to do so ? Is his choice at any time 
different from what it has always been ? Has he a chosen people? 
(P. 102.) Is he, therefore, partial? What is it to be partial? Has 
God elected some and not others without sufficient reasons ? Is 
he any more partial in electing than in saving some and not 
others ? Is election any more applicable to salvation than it is to 
every condition of life ? If a person neglects seeking his salvation 
on account of his election or non-election, what must he do to be 
consistent ? 

Influences oe the Holy Spibit. — (P. 104.) What is still neces- 
sary to secure salvation ? How is the change effected ? Do men 
naturally become holy ? To what is their condition compared in 
Ezekiel? also what change in them is referred to? (P. 105. > Of 
what is all true piety the fruit? Quotations of Scripture referring 
to the Holy Spirit, as resisted by sinners, foretold by the prophets, 
promised by Christ, and accompanying the preaching of the 
Gospel. (P. 106. ) What evidences are there from time to time 
that his influences are still exerted? (P. 107.) How are his 
influences chiefly secured ? Passages of Scripture quoted. 

Regeneration. — (P. 107.) What is Kegeneration ? Why so 
called? Repeat the passages quoted which refer to it. (P. 108.) 
How is its reality proved? What remarkable instance of it is 
cited? (P. 109. \ Who is the. Author? how evident? Are persons 
usually active in their regeneration ? Should any one wait to be 
regenerated? When may persons expect to be regenerated? 
Illustration. (P. 110.) What usually precedes regeneration? Is 
conviction uniformly gradual or sudden? distressing? protracted ? 
Is regeneration itself a gracfual change ? Is a person who ex- 
periences it always conscious of it at the time ? Does he always 
know the hour or 'day when he first experienced it? Is the change 
always clear and decisive ? (P. 111.) What are evidences of it? 
Why is it necessary ? Passages of Scripture before quoted. What 
other considerations prove its necessity? Why are not men 



Questions. 239 

naturally fitted for heaven? (P. 112.) Do they natnrally become 
fitted as they become older? the profligate youth? the vicious? 
even the moral and virtuous? (P, 113.) Do any need regenera- 
tion less than Nicodemus ? What is chiefiy the means of regene- 
ration ? Quotations of Scripture which prove this. P. 114.) In 
what respects are other means of grace useful ? When are they 
rightly used? What are chiefly the first exercises of the regene- 
rated ? Is any one of these uniformly exercised before the others ? 
Is one ever exercised without the others ? Which is naturally 
first in order ? 

Christian Faith.— f P. 116.) What is Christian faith ? What is 
the rule of faith ? Is faith ever perfect in this world ? Is a com- 
mon belief of the Bible true faith ? Is the common belief of any 
creed, however perfect, the same as iaith ? Repeat the passages 
of Scripture quoted which teach that none naturally have faith, 
(P. 117. ) How are they blind ? Why is their faith dead ? Have 
many in Christian communities experienced true faith ? How is 
their experience described in the passage of Scripture quoted? 
(P. 118. ) Are the truths they believe generally different from what 
they formerly believed ? In what respects is their faith different ? 
Is it more mysterious than any other faith ? Is the Gospel to be 
believed as otheT truths are ? Do Christians think that their faith 
is essentially different from that which they formerly exercised? 
What should be inferred from the nature of the truths taught in 
the Gospel ? (P. 119.) Do men naturally feel and act as though 
they really believed them ? Could they be so unaffected if they 
really believed them ? What particular truths do they evidently 
not believe? (P. 120. ) With what effects is faith uniformly 
accompanied ? Is there an essential difference between the faith 
of Christians and others ? Is it always clearly perceptible ? Is 
the faith of Christians apt to be very strong ? Though weak, 
does it essentially change their course of life? (P. 121.) What 
examples of faith are referred to ? Is such faith necessary ? What 
passages of Scripture are quoted to prove this? Would any 
repent and become fitted for heaven without faith ? How may it 
be exercised"? (P. 122.) One direction? In what respects is it 
the gift of God to be sought by prayer ? In what respects does it 
depend on oneself? W r hat is particularly required? (P. 123.) 
"What is also required ? If faith is earnestly sought in connection 



240 Questions. 

with a faithful discharge of known duties, will it be apt to be ex- 
ercised ? 

Justification by Faith. — 'P. 124.) What has been considered 
respecting the justification of sinners ? Will all be justified by- 
Christ? Who will be? (P. 125.) What authority is there for 
this? "Repeat the passages of Scripture quoted. Why is faith 
required ? Why is unbelief sinful ? (P. 126. ) Would justification 
without faith be much the same as justification without the atone- 
ment ? How does faith prepare one for justification ? 

Tkust in God.— (P. 127.) What is closely allied to faith ? What 
is the difference in this respect between Christians and others ? in 
temporal things ? with reference to their salvation ? 

Love to God. — (P. 128.) What did Christ say to the Jews con- 
cerning the love of God in them ? Did they think otherwise ? Do 
men generally think they love God ? Do they really love him ? 
How is true love produced ? Quotations of Scripture. What is 
pure love ? the opposite of what ? Is it ever perfect on earth ? 
What different forms does it assume ? how expressed ? (P. 129. ) 
Are Christians always conscious of love to God ? May they have 
evidence of it without feeling it at the time? in what ways? 
(P. 130.) How does love to God affect Christians in respect to 
others ? Is their love always fervent ? Is it ever extinguished ? 
Do they need to cherish it ? 

Repentance. — (P. 131.) What is repentance towards God? 
How is it distinguished from repentance naturally exercised? 
Why is it necessary ? Quotations of Scripture. (P. 132.) Is the 
excuse " I can't repent" valid? Why not? Is there a sense in 
which sinners cannot repent ? Passage of Scripture quoted. Is 
being accustomed to sin any excuse for continuing in it ? In 
what respects are sinners dependent on the Holy Spirit for 
repentance? Is it safe to neglect repentance? What are the 
means to be used ? (P. 133. ) Is a mere volition sufficient ? How 
are the means to be used ? What particular truths are fitted to 
lead sinners to repentance ? How is faith connected with repent- 
ance? What is the language of the penitent quoted from the 
Bible ? What is conversion ? Does it always accompany repent- 
ance ? What change is effected by repentance in the heart ? out- 
ward life ? 



Questions. 241 

Humility. — ;P. 134) What naturally accompanies repentance ? 
Have holy beings reasons for it ? Why, especially, should we be 
humble ? Are sinners apt to be humble ? 

Prayer. — (P. 135.) What is one of the first indications that a 
person has become a Christian ? What example is referred to ? 
What is the difference between the prayers of Christians and 
others ? What is prayer ? What does it include ? What is the 
most comprehensive and beautiful form of prayer ? (P. 136.) Why 
is prayer the duty of all? Are the prayers of the impenitent 
acceptable to God ? How then can it be their duty to pray ? Is 
their indisposition to pray offensive to God ? Is prayer a privilege ? 
Illustration. In what respects is it a privilege to Christians? 
(P. 137.) Is prayer useful? What objection to it is often urged? 
Can anything else change the purposes of God? If prayer is use- 
less, are not all human efforts useless ? Is not prayer the means 
of good as certainly as any thing else ? Has God purposed to 
answer prayer or not ? How is prayer useful to Christians apart 
from its efficacy ? ( P. 138. ) Why should we believe that prayer 
is efficacious? in view of God? his promises quoted? (P. 138.) 
What are the appropriate places of prayer for individuals ? why ? 
(p. 139.) for heads of families? why? for all as social beings? 
why ? What kind of prayer is acceptable to God ? 

Submission, Obedience and Consecration. — (P. 140.) In what 
respects are Christians submissive to God as others are not? 
Examples referred to. Is it often the first indication of Christian 
life? Explain how. (P. 141.) What instance is related? How 
ddes consecration differ from submission and obedience ? Illus- 
trations. 

Sanctification.— (P. 143.) What is it? Will it be apt to follow 
regeneration ? why ? i P. 144. ) What is said of its necessity ? In 
what respects are Christians sanctified? (P. 145.) To what are 
they compared in the passage of Scripture quoted ? What often 
seems to be the experience of Christians ? What must be their 
real experience? What passages of Scripture are quoted to prove 
this ? What are the means of sanctification ? How are prayer, 
meditation, etc., means of it? (p. 147.) trials? What passages of 
Scripture are quoted with reference to afflictions ? Is perfect holi- 
ness attainable on earth? In what sense is it attainable? also 



242 Questions, 

not ? What passages of Scripture are quoted ? (P. 148. ) "What is 
said of those who claim to be perfect ? Why probably does sancti- 
fication progress so slowly ? 

Cheistian Peeseveeance. — (P. 149.) Will all true Christians 
continue such ? Is it possible for them to perish in sin ? Is it 
certain that they will persevere ? What will they need ? If it 
depended chiefly on themselves, what would be true ? (P. 150. ) 
So far as it depends on themselves, will they be apt to persevere ? 
Will they uniformly be consistent? Do not many professing 
Christians fail of salvation ? If so what is true of them ? In what 
passages quoted from the Bible is the perseverance of Christians 
plainly taught ? (P. 152. ) What passage quoted seems to teach 
the opposite ? How may it be understood ? Though there are 
tares among the wheat, does wheat ever become tares ? Passages 
of Scripture quoted. Does this truth encourage Christians to 
neglect making efforts ? Why not ? Does it encourage them to 
be faithful ? How ? 

Cheistian Peivileges. — (P. 154.) What special privileges have 
Christians ? What passages of Scripture prove that they are for- 
given ? Why is this a great privilege ? (P. 156.) What passages 
of Scripture speak of their adoption ? In what respects is this a 
privilege ? What passages of Scripture refer to their communion 
with God ? (P. 157.) Do Christians enjoy communion one with 
another ? how ? ( P. 158. ) What passages of Scripture speak of 
Christians as heirs of heaven ? Why is this a privilege ? 

The Chtjech. — -P. 158.) What does the word mean? What is 
the church ? a church ? Were churches at first regularly organ- 
ized ? How did they become organized ? What officers were 
appointed? (P. 159.) Is any particular form of organization 
plainly required ? What is essential ? 

Baptism. — P. 159.) What is baptism? Is it a duty? Why? 
Is it efficacious in itself ? Is it useful ? How ? What modes are 
used ? Is it unquestionable which mode is Scriptural ? Which 
did John the Baptist probably use ? Which, Christ's disciples ? 
In accordance with what Jewish custom were these two modes ? 
Was John's baptism the same as Christian baptism ? What pas- 
sage of Scripture proves them different ? What instances seem to 
show that sprinkling was the only mode of Christian baptism at 



Questions. 243 

first? (P. 161.) Who are proper subjects of baptism? What 
objection is there to infant baptism ? How answered ? What aro 
the reasons for it ? What instances related in the Scriptures favor 
infant baptism ? What should be inferred from the history of bap- 
tism? (P. 163.) What is the relation of baptized children to the 
church ? How does God regard them ? reasons ? Are they bene- 
fitted ? How ? 

The Lord's Supper.— (P. 164.) What is it? Why observed? 
Is it fitted for such a purpose ? In what respects should Christ be 
remembered? (P. 165.) What is a proper observance of the 
ordinance ? 

The Sabbath.— (P. 166.) What is it? What is the fourth com- 
mandment? What day of the week was the Sabbath at first? 
why changed? Is the change authorized? why? How does it 
appear that the Sabbath was not designed only for the Jews ? Is 
there need of a Sabbath ? What are the various reasons assigned 
(p. 168.) in respect to the body? mind? (p. 169.) men as moral 
beings ? (p. 170.) religion ? (P. 171.) What is a proper observance 
of the Sabbath ? Is the guilt of neglecting it great ? how does it 
appear ? 

Worship. — (P. 174) Is God apt to be worshiped where he is 
known? Where was Public Worship once chiefly offered? In 
what did it chiefly consist ? What does Christian worship include ? 
reasons ? For what are churches chiefly formed ? How do 
Christians regard it? (P. 175.) What passages of Scripture ex- 
press their sentiments ? What are the appropriate exercises of 
worship ? proofs from the Scriptures ? What kind of worship is 
acceptable to God? (P. 176.) Do those who neglect public wor- 
ship, worship him in spirit? Are all sincere worshipers who 
observe the form? (P. 177.) Why is public worship both a duty 
and privilege in respect to honoring God ? (p. 178.) temporal pros- 
perity ? intelligence and virtue ? salvation of souls ? 

The Millennium. — (P. 181.) Why so called? What is com- 
monly understood by it? What passages of Scripture predict it? 
(P. 182. ) Is the time certain ? What are signs of its approach ? 
(P. 183.) In what respects is it encouraging to Christians ? What 
impression is it fitted to make in respect to the number who will 
be saved ? (P. 185. ) Remark of Prof. Stuart. 



244 Questions. 

Life the only Season of Probation. — (P. 186.) What passage 
of Scripture is quoted with reference to it ? Illustrations from life 
itself, youth, vices and crimes. (P. 188.) Is there anything in 
death that will certainly alter this natural course ? In what 
respects is life a probation ? What are the reasons for considering 
life the only season of probation ? Passages of Scripture. 

Death. — (P. 190.) In what respects are we familiar with it? Is 
it a part of the penalty of sin ; or a part of the curse pronounced 
on man ? What is the sting of death ? Is it dreadful in itself? 
why ? For what is it chiefly dreadful ? 

Immortality. — (P. 192.) Shall we exist after death? State the 
arguments in order — possible— no contrary proof — analogy of 
nature — (p. 193. ) thoughts, desires, etc. — quotations from Young 
and Milton — difference between us and animals — (p. 194. ) minds 
capable of improvement — unsatisfactory results of life — (p. 195.) 
the justice of God — objection that the Old Testament seldom 
refers to it answered — Quotations from the Old Testament — 
(p. 196. ) the New Testament — passages quoted (p. 197. ) more pas- 
sages quoted. 

The Intekmediate State.— (P. 197.) What is it? (P. 198.) Is 
it a state of consciousness ? Where will Christians exist ? — where 
the impenitent ? Proofs from Scripture ? 

The Kesurrectton. — (P. 199.) Is it taught by reason? Is it 
unreasonable? Is it represented as an important truth of the 
Gospel? (P. 200.) What passages are quoted to teach it? 
(P. 201.) In what respects will the bodies raised be the same as on 
the earth? In what respects will the bodies of Christians be 
changed, as shown in the passages of Scripture quoted ? (P. 202. ) 
Is the resurrection of the body desirable? Why may it often 
seem otherwise ? What may be inferred respecting the bodies of 
the wicked hereafter ? passages of Scripture quoted. 

The Final Judgment. — (P. 202. ) Has any future judgment been 
anticipated without the Bible ? (P. 203.) Bepeat the passages of 
Scripture quoted with reference to it. Have we perfect concep- 
tions of such a scene? Will the reality doubtless surpass the 
description? (P. 204.) Who will be the Judge? Who will be 



Questions. 245 

judged ? What two classes will there be ? What will be the test 
of character? To whom will the judgment be most dreadful? 
What will be the sentences pronounced ? 

The Futube Punishment of the Wicked. — (P. 205.) At the 
close of the judgment, what will take place? What penalty will 
be inflicted? just? dreadful? (P. 206.) Passages of Scripture 
referring to it. Is such language more or less figurative ? If so, 
is its meaning less dreadful ? Will not the awful reality probably 
surpass all conception? (P. 207.) Are expressions which seem 
extravagant, and which suggest unnatural and forbidding ideas, 
really less alarming than they would be if rightly understood ? 
What is plainly taught respecting the punishment of the wicked — 
their exclusion from heaven? Passages of Scripture quoted to 
prove it. What then must be their condition for this reason alone ? 
— condemnation to Hell ? — what place is hell as a place of punish- 
ment ? (P. 208.) What most dreadful evils are better than to be 
cast into hell ? to lose one's soul ? How will the loss of present 
sources of happiness affect the wicked in eternity ? Illustrations. 
(P. 209.) What will be the character of the wicked after death? 
Passages of Scripture quoted. What connection is there between 
sin and misery? (P. 210.) Is there anything in death to prevent 
this — to make sinners better ? Will they naturally be wicked, and 
consequently miserable forever? How will a consciousness of 
guilt affect their happiness ? (P. 211.) How does it affect them in 
this life ? How will it naturally affect them after the judgment ? 
What companions will the wicked have in hell ? (P. 212. ) What 
should be inferred from this ? How will God regard the wicked ? 
How does he often treat them in this world ? Instances. (P. 213.) 
What should be inferred from the resurrection of the wicked? 
What passage of Scripture quoted implies bodily sufferings here- 
after ? How long will the wicked be punished ? What passages 
of Scripture quoted prove that their punishment will be eternal ? 
(P. 214.) When are such words as eternal, etc., limited in their 
meaning ? If they do not express the idea of endless punishment, 
do they express the idea of endless happiness ? If they do not 
express such an idea, could any language be used that would 
express it ? What has been the general impression received from 
the Bible on this subject ? Is it probable that so many have mis- 
taken its meaning and so few have discovered it ? Is there reason 



246 Questions. 

to believe that the general impression received from the Bible will 
be essentially changed ? What is the principal objection against 
eternal punishment ? Are men proper judges ? Do most persons 
feel that it would be unjust if they should be excluded from heaven 
forever? Do those who feel so know it? (P. 215.) Will not end- 
less guilt deserve endless punishment ? Will not endless sin lead 
to endless misery, and deserve endless punishment ? What is the 
belief of some respecting annihilation ? Can this be properly con- 
sidered as eternal punishment? (P. 216.) Can sinners be pun- 
ished after they have ceased to exist ? Is the goodness of God 
inconsistent with endless punishment if just? Are there not 
abundant proofs of his goodness though he threatens such punish- 
ment ? Would he have given his Son to die for sinners if they 
were not exposed to endless punishment ? Are there not dreadful 
realities in the present life ? Should not these lead us to expect 
more dreadful realities hereafter, if we neglect the great salvation ? 
(P. 217. ) Is not the endless punishment of the wicked necessary ? 
What would be the effect of preaching universal salvation if all 
should believe it ? As the welfare of society requires prisons for 
criminals, does not the greatest good of all moral beings require 
the endless punishment of the wicked? Is it not enough that 
there is a glorious salvation for all who believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ ? 

The Futuke Happiness of Chkistians. — (P. 218.) Into what will 
the righteous enter after the judgment? What passage of Scrip- 
ture describes them after that ? What place will they inhabit ? 
How is it represented in the Bible ? Will the reality doubtless 
surpass our best conceptions of what such descriptions mean? 
How can Christians best judge of heaven ? From what will their 
f uture happiness be partly derived ? In this regard, why will it be 
much greater than in this world ? (P. 219. ) *How will their know- 
ledge of God increase their happiness ? What is another source 
of happiness in heaven ? Why will holiness increase their happi- 
ness ? (P. 220. ) What is the chief source of happiness in heaven ? 
How will communion with God and the presence of Christ make 
them happy? (P. 221.) How will the society of holy beings 
increase their enjoyment ? their employments? (p. 222.) the wor- 
ship of God? the knowledge to be acquired? various kinds of 
knowledge ? (p. 223. ) doing good ? (P. 224. ) Does all that has 



Questions. 



247 



been remarked afford us more than a glimpse of heaven ? What 
are some considerations fitted to make heaven appear still more 
desirable ? the satisfaction afforded — endless enjoyment ? Illus- 
trate — repeat the passages of Scripture quoted. 

God Glorified. — (P. 225.) How glorified? How is his glory 
now obscured ? How glorified in the Gospel ? the universe ? 



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